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ANNUAL REPORT 2019

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

FUNDING WINDOWS

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I. OverviewThe UNDP Funding Windows were launched in 2016 to mobilize and align thematic funding with UNDP’s Strategic Plan. By pooling resources from multiple funding partners, the Funding Windows enable UNDP to invest in priority activities that accelerate action on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Their flexible structure facilitates long-term planning and allows UNDP to pilot and scale up interventions that respond to national priorities and advance the global fight against poverty, inequality and climate change.

The four UNDP Funding Windows are:

This report presents 2019 results achieved through interventions supported by the Funding Windows at the national, regional and global levels. It attests to the critical importance of activities to build integrated and lasting solutions for people and the planet, leaving no one behind.

Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication

Governance for Inclusive and Peaceful Societies

Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction

Emergency Development Response to Crisis and Recovery

• Democratic Governance for Peace and Development• Conflict Prevention

Table of ContentsOverview

Highlights of 2019 ResultsTowards 2030 and leaving no one behindIntegrating issues to go to scaleMaking the humanitarian-development link through recoveryLooking forward: more agile, more effective Funding WIndows

Gender everywhereGlobal network, local solutions

Sustainable Development and Poverty EradicationDelivering the Sustainable Development GoalsLocalities take up the global goalsAccelerating inclusive development1 year, 100 solutions on financing to sustain biodiversity

Governance for Inclusive and Peaceful SocietiesEnhancing capacities for better electoral processesImproving parliamentary effectivenessInvesting in women’s empowerment and youth agencyEnding violence against womenCountry projects galvanize national momentumReinforcing the rule of law, human rights and securityForward not backward: A spotlight on preventionAdvisors for peace and developmentImproving livelihoods and servicesBuilding peace in communitiesMaking the humanitarian-development-peace connectionMore inclusive and responsive governancePublic administrationImproved access to services

Climate Change and Disaster Risk ReductionNDCs: Defining the course to climate actionInstitutional frameworks improvedMore NDC targets were refined and costedSystematic outreach mobilized the private sector

Emergency Development Response to Crisis and RecoveryImproving resilience for the most vulnerableImproving prospects for stability and peaceSupporting disaster recoveryCaribbean small island developing states connect recovery and resilienceFostering social cohesionTaking a comprehensive approach to resolve fragility and its many drivers

Keeping Up with the Challenges We FaceOvercoming barriers to reach the most marginalizedAdvancing gender equalityExpanding support for recoveryInvesting in youthBroadening partnerships and deepening intgrationTargeting capacity developmentHarmonizing with national initiativesOpening space in political processesBroadening the donor base and balancing flexible and earmarked funds

Looking Forward: A New Era for the Funding Windows

Financial Resources

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II. Highlights of 2019 ResultsIn 2019, the Funding Windows mobilized more resources, reached a broader set of countries and delivered more results than in any previous year. A record US$103 million was mobilized from eight donors: Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and Switzerland.

A total of $56 million was allocated to projects in 2019, a 50 percent increase from 2018. Funds supported achievements in 97 UNDP country offices, and global expenditures reached $48 million. As in 2018, 40 percent of funds, a total of $19 million, went to 31 least developed countries. Detailed financial information is provided at the end of this report.

The Funding Windows contribute to the implementation of UNDP’s Strategic Plan, the organization’s vision to support the 2030 Agenda. In 2019, the Funding Windows continued to invest across all three development settings outlined in the Strategic Plan: eradicate poverty in all its forms and dimensions, accelerate structural transformations for sustainable development, and build resilience to shocks and crises. Projects tackled multidimensional inequalities, deepened accountable and inclusive governance, delivered integrated solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change and reduce disaster risk, invested in conflict prevention, bolstered core government functions, and built resilience to shocks. The Funding Windows delivered results in countries and communities around the world as detailed in this report and described in the midterm review of the Strategic Plan.

In line with UNDP’s corporate guidelines, the Funding Windows aim to deliver 15 percent of resources to activities that empower women and promote gender equality. In 2019, the Funding Windows exceeded this target for the first time: 17 percent of disbursements by country offices were directed specifically to women’s empowerment and gender equality projects (GEN3). The share reached 89 percent when including projects with a significant, consistent focus on gender equality (GEN2)1.

Leaving no one behind is a fundamental principle of the 2030 Agenda. The Funding Windows accordingly prioritize initiatives that reach the most vulnerable and marginalized first. This concerted focus is imperative in the final decade of action to achieve the SDGs—particularly in light of persistent inequality that is now rising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funding Window support in Benin targeted the intersection of poverty and gender, two forms of vulnerability that compound each other. A series of interventions in some of the country’s poorest municipalities, home to nearly 300,000 people, include introducing solar-equipped multifunctional platforms that women’s groups use to transform agricultural production. The women’s groups also manage them, attaining both greater economic empowerment and new leadership roles in their communities.

Funding Window investments have fuelled important work to identify the most vulnerable communities. In Malaysia’s Sabah region, for instance, inclusive SDG localization emphasized mapping the needs of undocumented and stateless people, a sensitive task requiring sustained and flexible support. In Bolivia’s impoverished South Highlands of Oruro, a poverty monitoring system established in 2019 now factors in the multiple dimensions of poverty. Able to tap new technology, it uses geospatial analysis with satellite information to track evolving needs. This contributes to more effective public planning and policymaking that can make a lasting difference in ending poverty.

Work on leaving no one behind is guided by international human rights standards. In Georgia, UNDP supported the Government to implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This led to the initiation of a government coordination mechanism to accelerate progress for persons with disabilities, as well as new national standards to make buildings more accessible.

Human rights, gender equality and stakeholder engagement remained key elements in the work of the global Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN). In Botswana, local communities participated in a review of protected areas fees, which recommended investing revenues in livelihoods and conservation. In Colombia, a preliminary payment for ecosystem services model for indigenous communities was formulated.

Towards 2030 and leaving no one behind

1. UNDP measures gender mainstreaming through the Gender Marker, which tracks and monitors the gender-responsiveness of each financial allocation. Project outputs are rated against a four-point scale: GEN3 indicates that realizing gender equality and/or the empowerment of women are explicit objectives and the main reason a given output was planned; GEN2 projects promote gender equality in a significant and consistent way, building on a gender analysis with set indicators to measure/track change; GEN1 projects make a limited impact on gender equality; and GEN0 projects have no activities or components contributing to gender equality.

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The Funding Windows deliberately emphasize interventions with strong potential to generate transformational change. Projects are grounded in an understanding of how different dimensions of development reinforce each other—or the opposite. Through an integrated, multidisciplinary approach that takes advantage of synergies and assesses trade-offs, UNDP supports projects that manage the inherent complexities of development to accelerate progress. Increasingly, projects draw on the full breath of UNDP and United Nations intellectual resources and build on country-level partnerships.

An important starting point for integrated development strategies is national planning, with the SDGs offering a comprehensive entry point. Egypt now has a strong monitoring and measurement system linked to the goals. As part of an International Futures workshop, staff from over 10 government institutions modelled a range of scenarios and devised integrated, innovative policy responses to long-term challenges. Kazakhstan trained a cadre of 30 statisticians on methods for calculating a cross-section of SDG indicators, such as on the environment, governance and gender. In the Maldives, UNDP supported the democratic transition by engaging in national development planning after almost a decade of its absence. This included the formulation of the milestone national five-year Strategic Action Plan, and an integrated national financing framework aimed at diversifying the economy, initiating a blue economy transformation, and providing more opportunities for youth.

A growing emphasis in integrated programming is working with youth and broadening their leadership in managing complex challenges. In 2019, UNDP supported the mobilization of 3,800 university students in Mauritania to debate issues such as quotas for youth in decision-making. In Tunisia, 125 youth camps across the country mobilized 3,000 young people to identify solutions to development challenges, with a pivotal partner in the camps being a start-up dedicated to women’s entrepreneurship.

In Ecuador, UNDP worked with local officials to integrate peace principles in planning. In tandem, a market analysis shaped a strategy to improve value chains and boost local economic opportunities. An emphasis on inclusive economic development has also led localities to be more open to integrating migrants in the local economy. Across the border in Colombia, more than 40 institutions are coordinating efforts to provide employment and entrepreneurship opportunities and restore services. Four citizen networks engage communities to prevent violence and xenophobia. In one locality, public awareness-raising is linked with concrete community actions bringing migrants and host communities together to clean streets, rehabilitate public spaces and establish community gardens.

The Funding Windows have enabled UNDP to further bridge humanitarian response and development. During recovery efforts, UNDP serves both programming and advocacy roles, and draws on its diverse partnerships and expertise. Recovery is vital to transition out of a humanitarian crisis, laying a strong foundation for development for societies and communities to get back on track.

Immediately after Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique, UNDP coordinated technical assistance for all clusters of humanitarian actors to integrate early recovery activities across the humanitarian response. UNDP helped the Government conduct a post-disaster needs assessment, hold a donor pledging conference, and develop a National Disaster Recovery Framework. UNDP’s quick issuance of guidelines on disposing debris containing asbestos, coupled with training for local government staff, supported the safe removal of toxic materials. Cash-for-work schemes reached over 103,000 families, providing temporary employment along with basic tools and training to develop income generation activities and small businesses.

After a series of disasters hit Malawi, UNDP helped develop a national disaster recovery framework and demonstrated ways to respond to recovery priorities for the most vulnerable groups, such as through building climate-resilient housing. Continued capacity development helped the Tonga Legislative Assembly optimize use of new IT equipment, including cloud-based solutions that offer in-built protections from future natural disasters. As one of a few countries to develop an e-parliament plan, Tonga had a base to maintain legislative functions as it responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In October 2019, after extensive consultations with contributing and non-contributing partners, and broad discussions with internal stakeholders, UNDP approved a revamping of the Funding Windows with the aim of improving performance and alignment with the Strategic Plan. The revamped structure and governance arrangements provide partners with a more bold and agile mechanism for pooled, flexible funding. It takes full advantage of the resources of UNDP’s Global Policy Network and is fully attuned to UNDP’s core areas of work. To fortify UNDP’s integrator role, the Funding Windows will intensify investment in multidisciplinary solutions that connect issues and people, and accelerate the pace of change.

Integrating issues to go to scale Making the humanitarian-development link through recovery

Looking forward: more agile, more effective Funding Windows

Gender Everywhere Funding Windows investments are increasingly in gender-focused projects and emphasize gender integration across the portfolio. Highlights from 2019 include:

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Women and social services

Pakistan: A local gender desk extended essential services to poor women and reports on their priorities. Republic of Moldova: Human-centred design techniques created the first integrated services for survivors of gender-based violence in a marginalized region. Uzbekistan: A pilot integrated service delivery model for women in difficult circumstanc-es inspired national recommendations to improve 197 shelters across the country.

Women in justice

Sudan: New women members of traditional councils are transform-ing how the councils mete out justice, such as by referring rape cases to the police. Maldives: The first two female justices joined the Supreme Court.

Women in anti-corruption

Lebanon: The first engagement of women’s groups on anti-corruption issues accompa-nied an updated corruption risk methodology that integrates gender considerations.

Women in public administration

Armenia: 24 legislative amendments were developed to improve women’s leadership in public administration. Montenegro: The Human Resources Management Authority adopted a gen-der mainstreaming plan, which informed a comprehensive education pro-gramme in public administration.

Women in climate change

Uganda: A climate change adaptation and wetlands restoration project integrated an explicit focus on pre-venting gender-based violence. Ecuador: Gender equality was embedded in national climate strategies, laws and monitoring systems.

Women in resilience

Mauritania: In communities highly vulnerable to drought, 94 local women’s cooperatives established microenterprises and learned techniques for processing and marketing local products. Nepal: Provincial and municipal frameworks for addressing disaster risks made special arrangements for women’s security and post-di-saster reconstruction and rehabilitation needs.

Women in humanitarian action

Bangladesh: In refugee areas, 110 community police forums responded to cases of sexual and gender-based violence; local police stations set up women’s desks and private interview rooms. Turkey: Through a partnership with Koton, Turkey’s biggest textile retailer, over 2,600 refugee and host community women sold handicrafts in the ‘handmade collection’ line.

Women in the economy

Viet Nam: 800 ethnic minority women in impover-ished communities created 49 cooperatives that sell over 130 products through e-commerce platforms.

Women in national discourse

Costa Rica: The Equality Opens Roads campaign galvanized over 1 million people to support women’s rights in municipal decision-making. State of Palestine: The SHUFUNA (‘See us’) multimedia campaign chal-lenged a million people to encourage women’s participation and was en-dorsed by the Central Election Commission for future polls.

Women in peace and prevention

Republic of Congo: Women accounted for 40 percent of participants in dialogues critical to reconciliation. Chad: Over 9,000 women in areas with significant shares of refugees and returnees restarted businesses and re-stored infrastructure to stabilize their communities.

Women in planning and budgeting

Tunisia: Parliament passed a new law with the first provisions for gender-sensitive budgeting. Niger: Municipalities headed by female mayors intro-duced gender-sensitive planning with improvements for women farmers.

Women in politics

Guinea Bissau: The newly elected Government nominated women to head 50 percent of government ministries. Sierra Leone: The President endorsed a road map for an affirmative action bill. Panama: Training helped prepare 250 women candidates to run for office; 40 percent won seats.

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AZERBAIJAN

UZBEKISTAN

BENIN

BRAZIL

EGYPT

INDONESIA

CHILE

COLOMBIA

COSTA RICA

ECUADOR

BELIZE

FIJI

TONGA

BANGLADESH

BARBADOS

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDABRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

DOMINICA

VENEZUELA

BURKINA FASO

CUBA

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

DJIBOUTISUDAN

ETHIOPIA

GUATEMALA

IRAN

MADAGASCAR

MOZAMBIQUE

MALAWI

SOUTH AFRICA

MAURITANIAMALI

MEXICOMYANMAR

NEPALBHUTAN

NIGER

CHAD

RWANDA

SIERRA LEONE

SOMALIA

SOUTH SUDAN

PAKISTAN

INDIA

MOLDOVA

SYRIA

VIET NAM

ZIMBABWE

STATE OF PALESTINE

GHANA

KENYA

UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

LAO PDR

LEBANON

MOROCCO

PERU

PHILIPPINES

VANUATU

THAILAND

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

UGANDA

ZAMBIA

ANGOLA

BOTSWANA

MONGOLIA

ALGERIA

BOLIVIA

PARAGUAY

ARGENTINA

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

COMOROS

GEORGIAARMENIA

TURKEY

GUYANA

HONDURAS

PANAMA

JORDAN

TUNISIA

SERBIA

ALBANIA

REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

MONTENEGRO KYRGYZSTAN

TAJIKISTAN

KAZAKHSTAN

LIBERIAMALAYSIA

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Global network, local solutions

Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication

Governance for Inclusive and Peaceful Societies

Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction

Emergency Development Response to Crisis and Recovery

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III. Sustainable Development and Poverty EradicationThe 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’s commitment to ending poverty in our lifetime has never been more relevant. The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to erase painfully secured gains and add half a billion people to the ranks of the world’s poor. UNDP works with countries to keep sus-tainable development on track, guided by national and local planning aligned with the SDGs. We are sensitive to the complex nature of development and tailor our responses to needs on the ground. We focus on the rights of poor and vulnerable groups, including women, to secure decent work and livelihoods, meet basic needs and enjoy a healthy environment.

In Tunisia, UNDP helped to establish a national mechanism to coordinate action on the SDGs across institutions. This was coupled with assistance in applying the mainstreaming, acceleration and policy support (MAPS) approach to prioritize the SDGs across the National Development Plan. To promote broader involvement in achieving the SDGs, Tunisia began developing an interactive, accessible public information system for SDG monitoring. Direct engagement in 2019 came through 125 youth camps across the country that mobilized 3,000 young people to identify solutions to development challenges. Ten group solutions reached a stage of further incubation and acceleration. Four are led by young women, with a pivotal partner in the camps being a start-up dedicated to women’s entrepreneurship. A national platform tracks the evolution of the projects and provides a mentorship tool connecting youth to international and national experts.

UNDP assisted Kazakhstan to successfully prepare its 2019 Voluntary National Review, build-ing on new skills cultivated among 40 employees at the national SDG Secretariat. Specialized training for 30 statisticians shared methods for calculating SDG indicators on the environ-ment, governance and gender. An assessment of the national budget and financial flows, conducted with the Asian Development Bank, was a first move towards a financing strategy for SDG implementation. Broad public engagement brought over 750 people from different ages, backgrounds and abilities to SDG workshops in all 17 regions of the country, where they used gamification and the Imagine 2030 tool to spark discussion. Findings were shared with the national SDG Coordination Council, chaired by the First Deputy Prime-Minister.

Delivering the Sustainable Development Goals

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Unleashing the transformative capacity of the business sector was the aim of Azerbaijan’s first Public-Private Sector Dialogue on the SDGs, hosted by UNDP and the Government. Rep-resentatives from more than 100 firms considered ways to tap private sector innovation and capital to accelerate the goals. Business leaders shared insights on investment and partner-ship opportunities, specifically focusing on inclusive labour markets, innovation, big data and gender equality. The dialogue provided a base for a novel national action plan on public-pri-vate sector engagement and partnership for the SDGs.

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UNDP Indonesia

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Localities take up the global goals

Funding Window support has fuelled UNDP’s work to reach the most vulnerable commu-nities. A poverty monitoring system piloted in the highly impoverished South Highlands of Oruro of Bolivia, for instance, factors in the multiple dimensions of poverty, and uses georef-erencing to prioritize needs in different localities. Geospatial analysis with satellite informa-tion evaluates changes in natural resources such as soil, water and vegetation cover, while seasonal livelihoods consultations track productive activities, including gender differences. This information increases the effectiveness of public planning, allowing it to address multidi-mensional poverty while balancing environmental needs. The Minister of Development Plan-ning expects to replicate the initiative in other poverty ‘hot spots’ requiring comprehensive solutions that leave no one behind.

In the northeast region of Brazil, women in the state of Piaui struggle with high rates of ma-ternal mortality, unemployment and gender-based violence. The UNDP-supported Resilient Women = Resilient Cities initiative has sought to lift these barriers. It works with five munic-ipalities and the state government in exploring how public policy can unleash the catalytic potential of gender equality for the entire society. All five municipalities developed detailed SDG analysis complemented by qualitative gender research; training equipped 16 other mu-nicipalities to conduct similar exercises. The process shaped a set of 20 ‘Resilient Wom-en’ actions to accelerate gender equality, with five geared towards making the issue much more visible in public policy. One proposal, creating an intermunicipal network for monitoring policies for women in the state, is already being implemented. Ongoing work with political leaders and public managers has elaborated strategies for keeping women’s rights high on political agendas and in budgetary choices. An online state platform sharing information on each of the SDGs, including through a georeferenced baseline for all municipalities, will mon-itor progress over time.

Indonesia’s Lampung and Gorontalo Provincial Governments have embraced the 2030 Agenda through new planning tools and experimental initiatives. UNDP helped establish a dashboard of development data for SDG localization to identify baselines, gaps and targets. Both provinces have set up SDG action plans informed by a combination of public perception surveys and public financial management analysis, allocating 800 million Indonesian rupi-ah each (approx. $60,000) for governance and planning processes for SDG localization. In Gorontalo Province, the EmPOWERed Farmers initiative is part of a prototype ‘SDG village’ supported by UNDP. One experimental initiative involved convening government officials, farmers and social businesses, in particular young entrepreneurs, to work with fintech compa-nies that use apps to generate financing from individual investors. In a two-week crowdfund-ing period, the initiative raised $140,000 for 150 farmers, who invested in agricultural inputs and saw incomes soar by 80 percent and land productivity by 75 percent.

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UNDP Egypt

In Egypt, UNDP worked to improve the integration of SDGs and their targets into national planning. An updated national development agenda will now include a strong monitoring and measurement system linked to the goals. A MAPS engagement helped define SDG accelerators specific to the country, while an International Futures workshop equipped 25 government staff from over 10 institutions to model different scenarios, and devise and as-sess integrated, innovative policy responses to long-term challenges. A UNDP-supported development finance assessment and a mapping of social protection provisions prepared the ground for comprehensive financing of the goals.

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Accelerating inclusive development

Ethnic minority women are among the poorest of the poor in two already lagging provinces of Viet Nam. With UNDP support, 800 women were able to create 49 cooperatives that sell over 130 products through e-commerce platforms. The cooperatives have improved produc-tivity, marketing and product quality, and draw raw materials from surrounding localities to deliver livelihood benefits to over 2,600 people. The project uses the 4M approach—meet, match, mentor and move—to encourage marginalized women to define the issues they face. Collaboration with local government agencies, businesses and civil society organizations helps them improve and expand their businesses, while partnerships with e-commerce and e-payment enterprises mobilize private and public resources for business development. The cooperatives now support similar groups in four additional provinces. Their success influ-enced the new National Targeted Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction, which empha-sizes multidimensional poverty reduction and an accelerator lab to scale up innovations.

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In Benin, UNDP supported integrated approaches to development for some of the country’s poorest municipalities, home to nearly 300,000 people. One strategy, linking agriculture and infrastructure, has been the introduction of a solar-equipped multifunctional platform now allowing 23 women’s groups in marginalized villages to transform agricultural production. The platform reduces costs for processing crops and increases income and opportunities for agricultural entrepreneurship. The photovoltaic system, backed by a generator, can perform as a cashew nut crusher, cassava rapper, peanut oil press and rice husking machine. It also runs refrigerators, stations to recharge mobile phones and vehicle batteries, and indoor and outdoor lights. As the primary users of the platform, local women have formed a committee to manage it, attaining both greater economic empowerment and new leadership roles in their communities.

While South Africa’s social protection system covers millions with social grants, significant gaps persist, compounded by high unemployment rates. UNDP-assisted research on improv-ing safety nets for people falling into poverty recommends making payments more accessible and efficient, including through digital systems, and providing them in tandem with financial education. A Pathways out of Poverty Framework, based on global best practices, will help make social grants a catalyst for improved livelihoods and strengthened agency, particularly among poor women and youth.

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UNDP Benin

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1 Year, 100 solutions on financing to sustain biodiversity

Phase II of the global BIOFIN programme kicked off in 2019, building on many achievements. The programme is supporting 27 countries in designing and implementing biodiversity finance solutions, with over 100 solutions put forward in 2019 alone.

Strengthened capacity and new tools Capacity development for over 300 people in different countries covered core and specialized topics, such as budget tagging, impact investment and corporate responsibility. New technical tools were developed, including the Biodiversity Investment Impact Tracking Tool in Belize. Co-lombia is designing a system to automatically track budgetary expenditure on biodiversity.

Stronger laws Advances in a number of countries involved legislative and policy revisions. In the Philippines, these entailed strengthened biodiversity protection in large-scale mining operations, and a bill on benefits-sharing from genetic resources. In Colombia, an updated National Policy for the Pro-tected Areas System emphasizes a financing strategy. India issued a policy note for enhanc-ing corporate social responsibility contributions to biodiversity conservation. The Government of Kyrgyzstan adopted a resolution on the green economy, signalling commitment to reforming harmful subsidies and creating positive incentives for organic farming.

More resources for biodiversity In the Philippines, Congress approved a $40.5 million new budget for protected areas, marking the largest financial commitment of its type in any country to date. In addition, crowdfunding and screenings of a compelling documentary film mobilized funds to support conservation of the tamaraw, a small hoofed bovine endemic to the island of Mindoro that is critically endangered.

In Kazakhstan, UNDP, the blockchain technology company Bitfury group, and the Government signed a $1.5 million technical agreement to invest in the country’s first-ever carbon offset project for forestry. Mexico strengthened its National Climate Change Fund to widen the focus to biodi-versity and ecosystems, unlocking $4.8 million in financing. In Guatemala, support for budgetary planning in five municipalities led to a commitment of approximately $700,000 for coastal and marine management.

Including everyone Human rights, gender equality and participatory principles are key elements in BIOFIN’s work. In 2019, the initiative continued to work towards the equal, non-discriminatory and active participation of all stakeholders in planning, implementing and evaluating activities. In Botswana, the review of protected areas fees included participatory approaches and decision-making with traditional leaders and local community representatives. A proposed increase in fees now provides scope for investing revenues in communities and conser-vation. Colombia formulated a preliminary payment for an ecosystem services model for indigenous communities within the framework of its post-conflict agenda.

In Costa Rica, investment in tourism has prioritized initiatives for indigenous groups after they explicitly requested the development of tourism adapted to biodiversity conservation in their communities. Cooperation with the GEF Small Grants Programme helped projects, communities and small enterprises in Mexico to develop financial and business planning skills, and entrepreneurial capacities linked to better biodiversity management and con-servation.

Persuasive arguments Globally, the BIOFIN programme made a compelling pitch for expanding sources of biodi-versity finance through a new publication, ‘Moving Mountains: Unlocking Private Capital for Biodiversity and Ecosystems’. A massive open online course on biodiversity finance in En-glish, French, Spanish and Russian attracted over 3,607 participants, with 705 certificates issued, twice the standard industry rate.

Institutional commitments Several countries took steps to further institutionalize biodiversity financing. In the Sey-chelles, this meant creating an integrated biodiversity finance plan and a Biodiversity Fi-nance Unit. Joint collaboration with the UNDP Nationally Determined Contribution Support Programme led to the launch of a capitalization strategy for the Water Fund of the Sierra de Las Minas Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala. It incorporates climate adaptation and mitigation measures, and aims to generate practical insights into financial solutions for biodiversity conservation within protected areas. BIOFIN’s influence has extended to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which has applied the programme’s tools in three provinces of Kyrgyzstan. In India, the Madhya Pradesh State Government institutionalized the State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan by setting up biodiversity cells in all relevant state departments.

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IV. Governance for Inclusive and Peaceful Societies

In Guinea-Bissau, UNDP supported the National Elections Commission in organizing legisla-tive elections, including through financing 3,000 voter registration teams distributed through-out the country. Over 761,000 voters were included in a credible, reliable registration system, in line with domestic legislation and international standards. UNDP assisted in defining techni-cal specifications for voter registration equipment, supplied voting materials, and backed civ-ic education and voter registration outreach campaigns. Training of 80 percent of the women candidates running for Parliament, in areas such as political communication and campaign strategizing, helped 13 women gain seats. The new Government has nominated women to head 50 percent of government ministries.

Violence and inequality threaten the foundations of progress in societies around the world. Civic space is shrinking and trust in state institutions and processes has receded. While many countries have made strides in establishing effective governance, a large share, even those once deemed sta-ble, are now considered increasingly fragile. Given this mix of challenges, UNDP emphasizes the inte-gration of governance, conflict prevention and peacebuilding interventions, aimed at a more inclusive and resilient social contract. Projects take a human rights-based approach and remain sensitive to complex power dynamics that can fan conflict and fuel inequalities.

Madagascar’s successful 2018 presidential election was followed by legislative elections in 2019—and concerns about internal political fragility. It was a pivotal moment. UNDP worked with the electoral commission to ensure an open and inclusive process that deepened the legitimacy of national institutions and eased tensions. The project financed materials such as ballot papers with advanced security measures to avoid fraud and helped institute practic-es such as the requirement for two signatures from polling station staff to validate a ballot. Results sheets were filled at the end of voting to protect their integrity and shared with na-tional and international observers and delegates of the candidates. Control and monitoring operations used barcode machines to verify that materials were delivered to the right polling stations and guarantee traceability during vote counting.

Enhancing capacities for better electoral processes

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In Guatemala, UNDP helped the Electoral Tribunal develop capacities to effectively manage an election, including internal and external communication. In tandem, a partnership with the Guatemalan Federation of Radio Schools developed materials for the ‘Empadrónate’ campaign promoting electoral participation among indigenous peoples, youth and women in rural areas. At the national level, an electoral reform process moved forward through the establishment of space for dialogue to deliberate changes. At the local level, UNDP assist-ed high-risk municipalities in building consensus, developing conflict prevention strategies, and signing commitments to transparent and peaceful local electoral processes. G

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With a new electoral commission in place in Chad, UNDP provided training for officials at the central, regional and departmental levels, and assisted with upgrading IT systems. It helped conduct an updated mapping of polling places and census centres, and orchestrat-ed exchanges between electoral officials and their counterparts in Cameroon, Mauritania and Senegal, deepening understanding of different approaches to effective electoral ad-ministration. C

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UNDP Afghanistan

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At a time of complex electoral reforms in Paraguay, including the introduction of electronic voting and a system of semi-open lists for the election of multimember positions, UNDP helped strengthen the management capacities of the electoral commission. It supported uptake of new computer technologies and assisted in preparing a competitive international tender for leasing electronic voting machines as well as evaluating the technical aspects of the bids. An e-learning platform now offers expanded internal training for commission officials, while also hosting publicly accessible modules to build citizen awareness.

For the 2019 election in Panama, UNDP successfully advocated for presidential candidates to sign a formal pact committing to women, development and equality. Findings from a survey to measure public perceptions of women’s participation and a ‘parity’ democracy were widely shared and used for training. Staff of the Ombudsman’s Office, the National Women’s Institute and the Electoral Tribunal, for instance, learned to monitor the media to identify signs of political violence against women. Other training helped prepare 250 women candidates to run for office; 40 percent were elected. A new mentoring programme involving six former female parliamentarians will support women parliamentarians sitting in a seat for the first time.

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In the lead-up to the 2020 municipal elections in Costa Rica, the Equality Opens Roads campaign supported by UNDP worked through social networks to reach over 1 million peo-ple. It stressed the importance of women’s political participation in municipal decision-mak-ing to ensure sustainable local development. A novel audio-visual campaign called specific attention to violence against women in politics as a major obstacle to the full exercise of political rights. It was complemented by research on violence at the municipal level, helping to open national debate on addressing the issue. Around 450 women candidates attended training in 13 cantons of the country to build skills on political communications and campaigning, with sessions also stressing the right to participate free of political violence.

Although the postponement of elections delayed UNDP’s planned support in Mali, pre-paratory activities were carried out, including to communicate the revision of the electoral list to the broader public. Awareness-raising programmes in French and eight national lan-guages ran on local radios and national TV, while public service announcements appeared in newspapers, online and through SMS messages. Outreach campaigns conducted by 15 civil society organizations reached over 135,000 people in all regions of the country.

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With UNDP support, the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, female ministers and gender-fo-cused civil society groups engaged in Sierra Leone built a strategic coalition to bring more women into leadership. The caucus engaged the President of Sierra Leone, who endorsed a road map for an affirmative action bill. In six districts where women’s participation in local leadership has been extremely low, UNDP worked with district councillors and staff to inte-grate SDG indicators on gender equality and good governance in council operations and service provision. Three councils prioritized gender-responsive measures during reviews of district development plans in late 2019.

UNDP helped Tunisia’s Parliament create a strategic development plan, and train deputies and committee advisers on legislative responsibilities. An ‘Open Gov’ parliamentary day in-volved more than 200 representatives of civil society meeting with legislators to discuss mechanisms strengthening the relationship between them. An ongoing partnership with UN Women helped push the 2019 parliamentary approval of a new budget law that for the first time incorporates gender-sensitive budgeting.

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A UNDP project in Pakistan worked with women facing endemic gender discrimination in West Karachi. The project has developed models for more inclusive and responsive local governance, including through a gender desk in the local government to bridge gaps be-tween women and public services. The desk collects complaints and reports on women’s priorities. Women have used it as a referral service for identity registration, death or birth registration, basic health services and social support programmes. Other community-based structures, linked with the gender desk, have included peer groups for girls, psycho-social support, skills trainings and short business management courses. Community activities for both women and men have encouraged critical thinking around issues in the community, shared peace messages, and provided information on presenting issues to local represen-tatives.

Niger’s commune of Ouallam is one of the poorest and most vulnerable localities in the country, with difficult environmental, social and economic conditions. Agricultural potential is significant, but the commune struggles with limited financial resources and slow progress in modernizing marketing and production. Several municipalities are headed by some of the few female mayors in the country, opening an opportunity to improve local living conditions and demonstrate women’s leadership. In two pilot municipalities headed by women, UNDP worked with them to introduce gender-sensitive planning, leading to revisions in the com-munal development plans. Early actions have improved the productivity of farm associations, mainly run by women, and updated local market infrastructure. Observatories made up of diverse constituents trained by UNDP, including women, young people, herders, farmers, customary and religious authorities, civil servants and elected officials, monitor investments in the municipalities.

The UNDP-supported SHUFUNA (‘See us’) multimedia campaign is raising awareness of women’s lack of participation and representation in decision-making and reconciliation in the State of Palestine. Through radio spots, videos and online surveys tapping public per-spectives, the campaign has reached over 1 million people. It has built on the efforts of over 250 women and men from various socio-economic and political backgrounds committed to challenging the status quo. Activists, campaigners, women political leaders, community and media personalities, artists, women affected by the political divide, refugee women, disabled women, and young and elderly women and men took part in weekend workshops. They de-veloped 10 innovative solutions to advance social transformation and disrupt the barriers to women; these are slated for implementation in 2020. The Central Election Commission has agreed to use the SHUFUNA platform for the next elections to promote women’s participa-tion.

Investing in women’s empowerment and youth agency

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UNDP’s Resilience and Inclusive Peace Project tackles different aspects of crime and vio-lence in Trinidad and Tobago through targeted interventions for at-risk youth. A Youth Peace Ambassadors Programme, launched in 2019 at a detention centre for juvenile offenders, re-duces recidivism rates by taking youth through a programme of psychosocial development and skills-building. It covers life goals, conflict resolution, leadership, gender sensitivity, anger management, and more, and supports employability and empowerment. Participants prepare to be peace ambassadors once they leave detention, re-entering society with skills and as a positive force. The project has also trained four officers of the Children’s Court to develop a specialized Drug Treatment Juvenile Court. Training of 30 newly appointed child probation officers bolstered their abilities to manage children’s cases. Support to Police Youth Clubs has enhanced activities for at-risk youth, including to develop IT, communications and other skills. A number of young people have learned to play chess and gone on to place in top positions in national competitions, becoming models of achievement for their families and communities.

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Ending violence against women

Targeted pilots explore progress under a global umbrella

In 2019, a global UNDP programme, ‘Ending gender-based violence and achieving the SDGs’, contin-ued to deliver results in Bhutan, Indonesia, Iraq, Lebanon, Peru, the Republic of Moldova and Uganda. Under it, UNDP is testing different approaches to preventing gender-based violence while acceler-ating action on development goals linked to social cohesion, local governance and climate change.

A project in Uganda integrated gender-based violence prevention into a broader climate change adaptation and wetlands restoration project. An intervention in Lebanon enhanced women’s eco-nomic participation while also reducing risks of gender-based violence among Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities.

A project in Peru encourages new models of community collaboration to prevent violence. It strength-ens women’s networks and promotes non-violence and equitable social norms through radio broad-casts and artwork in community spaces. In Bhutan, a school-based prevention curriculum influences social transformation by empowering youth to present solutions on ending gender-based violence.

A number of projects have generated new evidence now being translated into policy and advoca-cy tools. For example, in Peru, the ‘Cost of No Prevention’ study found that gender-based violence caused an economic loss of nearly $73 million in the pilot community of Villa El Salvador in 2018. The sum was equivalent to half the budget of the Peruvian Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations for the same year. The findings have catalysed new dialogue with the Government on scaling up prevention.

Pilots in Indonesia, Peru and the Republic of Moldova have shown that the ‘planning and paying’ methodology, which engages diverse local actors in creating and carrying out local action plans to prevent gender-based violence, is effective at including historically excluded groups. In the Repub-lic of Moldova, for example, a wide array of community members and government representatives co-created and costed a local action plan to prevent gender-based violence. Human-centred design techniques engaged survivors and service providers to develop a ‘safe space’ to provide psychoso-cial support, and legal and social assistance. It is the first service of its kind in a marginalized region of the country.

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Country projects galvanize national momentum

A number of national UNDP projects have advanced movements to stop violence against women. Training for over 1,000 government officials in Lao People’s Democratic Republic has improved the delivery of essential services. Amended laws, including a decree authorizing village mediation units, have extended access to justice. Other progress comprises an updated legal aid manual and new guidelines on preventing violence against women. At five legal aid clinics in four provinces, including two launched in 2019, staff training improved knowledge of current legislation and human rights.

UNDP has supported Peru in establishing an integrated justice model for responding to cases of gen-der-based violence. With seamless links between different essential services for survivors, it seeks to improve access and guarantee protection. The model was established through close coordination between public institutions, justice operators and civil society groups, and guided by performance indicators tracking different roles and responsibilities. By the end of the project, the number of trials applying the model had doubled.

UNDP supported a review of legislation on gender-based violence in Tajikistan, elaborating recom-mendations to comply with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Training for over 418 prosecutors, judges, court secretaries, lawyers and para-lawyers, police officers and bailiffs strengthened understanding of legislative requirements. In tandem, outreach to vulnerable women in rural areas provided medical, social, psychological and legal assistance to 700 victims of domestic violence. A mobile app and hotline sustain support. Community Policing Part-nership Teams have begun conducting public awareness campaigns in remote localities as another means to reach people who might otherwise suffer in silence.

In Kyrgyzstan, UNDP developed manuals for training more than 500 police officers, 20 judges and 100 lawyers on ending gender-based violence. Work with young women and survivors of violence led to the launch of a mobile app linked to an emergency hotline for survivors to seek help and report cases.

Rule of law

Efforts to improve the quality of and increase access to justice in Chad have included work to revise penal legislation, including criminal procedural codes. UNDP supported training for Ministry of Justice officials, Judicial Police Officers, lawyers and other key penal actors to apply the new provisions. A process has also begun to revise legislation on HIV and AIDS and develop a national strategy to stop gender-based violence that aligns with international standards. A partnership with the Bar Association of Chad extended free legal aid to vulner-able groups, including victims of gender-based violence. Since gender-based violence is sustained by deeply rooted discriminatory norms, UNDP also backed information sessions in schools and universities that reached 1,175 students. A major national women’s debate in-volving 600 participants became a platform for frank discussion on the challenges faced by women, from early marriage to unequal rights to inheritance.

In Nepal, UNDP conducted 15 training sessions for 643 local judicial committee officials in 11 districts on their roles and responsibilities, and topics related to penal and civil codes. The committees are a recently established mechanism to resolve community disputes. New resource materials included specific guidance on human rights-based approaches and gen-der-responsive dispute resolution. Social mobilization to build awareness of legal rights and the mandates of the judicial committees reached 100,000 people in disadvantaged commu-nities.

In the Maldives, democratic transition deepened through UNDP recommendations to revise the justice sector reform proposal in line with best practices globally, taking into account qual-itative data on challenges people face in accessing justice. The key recommendation includ-ed equal gender representation in the judiciary, which resulted in the appointment of the first two female justices to the Supreme Court, and the development of performance appraisal mechanisms for judges along with strengthened investigation of disciplinary matters. Another major step was the adoption of the country’s first temporary special measures to reserve one third of local council seats for female candidates. UNDP concurrently supported the formula-tion of the national five-year Strategic Action Plan, a major milestone after almost a decade without coordinated development planning. Additional assistance helped devise an industrial policy and an integrated national financing framework, aimed at diversifying the economy, initiating a blue economy transformation, and providing more opportunities for youth, who experience high rates of unemployment.

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Human rights Security

UNDP supported a series of projects in Honduras to promote human rights as integral to conflict management, to develop mechanisms for inclusive and peaceful political dialogue, and to initiate electoral reforms. Building on a platform for political dialogue established in 2018, work in 2019 focused on developing conflict sensitivity among key state actors and strengthening capacities to promote a human rights-based approach to conflict manage-ment. Training for 28 regional officials extended scope for formal dialogues based on inter-national practices and principles. Seventy-five technical roundtables took place, issuing 166 points of consensus on the future of the country shared widely with the public and delivered to the National Congress. UNDP also helped the Secretariat for Human Rights to improve its system for providing early warning of conflict, including through better information collection and analysis, with an emphasis on geographic areas prone to unrest. A training module on conflict analysis and mediation was developed and used to cultivate new skills in 16 different state secretariats and institutions as well as 36 municipalities involved in local conflict preven-tion and mitigation.

To prevent violent extremism and address ongoing security threats in Burkina Faso, UNDP has carried out a programme simultaneously working with the security forces, women in local communities struggling to maintain their livelihoods, and the media and social influencers. Training for nearly 250 police officers assigned to the fight against terrorism stressed the critical importance of respect for human rights and gender, covering issues such as how to apply these principles in responding to a violent attack and the value of community policing. To address vulnerabilities that often fray the social fabric, UNDP assisted with plans to devel-op and irrigate two market gardening areas. Located to reduce ongoing conflicts between farmers and breeders, and cultivated mainly by women, the gardens will improve crop yields and bolster household nutrition.

Leveraging the role that the media can play in the fight against terrorism, the project brought together journalists and security forces to agree on a common information strategy that helped to overcome tensions concerning the disclosure of sensitive information, and to bet-ter understand the priorities and roles of each other. A series of meetings have led to more constructive relationships committed to balancing the flow of information while respecting citizens’ rights to access to information. UNDP has also supported a process, through a na-tional symposium and conferences in seven regions, defining common cultural values that the country can rely on to prevent and combat violent extremism and build social cohesion.

In Georgia, UNDP supported the Government to implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Expert research defined issues around the accessibility of local social services, the needs of local councils for people with disabilities, and challenges to participation in political and public life. A public opinion survey shed light on persistent stigma and stereotypes. The findings shaped advocacy and produced a number of results including steps to develop a government coordination mechanism to accelerate progress, as stipulat-ed in the Convention. New national standards make buildings more accessible, and two mu-nicipalities piloted a plan for extending municipal social services to people with disabilities. Work with the High School of Justice developed a comprehensive module to assist judges in interpreting national legislation in light of the Convention. Collaboration with the Public Defender’s Office has ensured that local councils for people with disabilities will be informed on implementation of the Convention. Training sessions for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and organizations for people with disabilities equipped them with capacities to mon-itor progress moving forward.

Rwanda made notable strides in strengthening the public sector and civil society organiza-tions in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. UNDP provided micro-grants to help six groups develop projects empowering people with disabilities, im-proving access to economic opportunities, skills development, and health and education ser-vices. To challenge negative mindsets around the abilities and rights of people with disabil-ities, a public service announcement stressed messages of inclusion on national television. An inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Forum, jointly organized by the World Bank and UNDP, explored key dimensions of diversity and inclusion, including disability, building momentum for a platform to routinely advocate for continued empowerment.

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Forward not backward: A spotlight on prevention

Bolstering institutions

A world in turmoil will never deliver on the promises of the 2030 Agenda. Yet from COVID-19 to conflict, the sources of instability continue to grow, taking a high toll on people, institutions and gains that have been made. These threats propel UNDP’s strong focus on prevention. Understanding the roots of violence and social disintegration shapes strategies to reduce them, and build resilience and social cohesion. This steers development investments towards where it should go, not backward but forward towards achieving the 17 SDGs.

UNDP continued strengthening systems and capacities for conflict sensitivity in Myanmar, seeking opportunities to promote a ‘do no harm’ approach and open entry points for social cohesion and peacebuilding. Advances included the formal revival of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Conflict Sensitivity and Social Cohesion, involving 12 leading national min-istries and the Union Attorney General’s Office. Collaboration with the Clingendael Institute provided insider mediation training for senior officials with roles in contested areas, in line with the Myanmar Peace Process. They learned techniques for resolving local conflicts and addressing gender-based violence and human rights violations in line with the national strat-egy on the resettlement of internally displaced persons. The Myanmar Police Force sent sev-eral high-level officials to the course and plans to introduce similar topics in its own training.

A regional programme for Europe and the CIS saw the launch of eight projects contributing to the Western Balkans Small Arms Light Weapons Control Roadmap, a coordinated strategic document adopted by Heads of States and Governments. Projects cover areas such as crim-inal investigation, countering illicit arms trafficking, data collection and record-keeping, and gender mainstreaming in arms control. Early results included the destruction of 1,439 pieces of ammunition in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which decreased the risk of uncontrolled explo-sions and enabled safer development. Another project in Bosnia and Herzegovina worked with the Border Police to counter illicit arms trafficking and scale up a unified approach to process crimes related to arms smuggling. In Kosovo, a project supported border police and customs officers to increase the detection of illicit weapons, ammunition and explosives.

A UNDP project in Georgia rendered UN Country Teams across the South Caucasus better prepared to anticipate conflict. It developed an early warning system that now monitors a comprehensive set of political, socio-economic and military indicators linked to the contest-ed area of Nagorno-Karabakh. It also helped develop and validate potential crisis escalation scenarios, elaborate response and preparedness plans, and conduct simulation exercises. Stronger political analysis has come through regular forecasts and analysis of political devel-opments nationally and sub-regionally, and training has enhanced understanding of how to conduct conflict-sensitive programming amid protracted crisis.

Greater confidence and trust have grown between the non-majority municipalities in north-ern Kosovo2 and central authorities through UNDP-supported activities that advance disas-ter risk reduction and, in the process, strengthen social cohesion. In two communities, one with an Albanian majority and one with a Serbian majority, municipal officials, civil society organizations and over 1,300 community members together performed emergency drills, developed skills for risk reduction, and learned to integrate gender and conflict prevention into post-disaster needs assessments. Special emergency management workshops brought together central and local authorities active on disaster risk reduction, conflict prevention and gender. The strengthened relationship that emerged paid off as the COVID-19 pandemic flared. UNDP helped the central Emergency Management Agency distribute IT equipment so that local authorities could issue regular daily reports on the crisis and jointly agreed in-terventions.

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Advisors for peace and development Improving livelihoods and services

UNDP collaborates with the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs on a global joint programme on building national capacities for conflict prevention. It deploys highly skilled Peace and Development Advisors (PDAs) to regions and 56 countries with the most critical needs. The PDAs support national policies, strategies and mechanisms for conflict prevention and peacebuilding. In 2019, 79 percent of the advisors engaged in preventive diplomacy, good offices, mediation or dialogue, while 62 percent assisted with national infrastructure for peace. More than 80 percent have aided the participation of women or youth in conflict prevention initiatives.

In Nigeria, the PDA supported a National Peace Policy to institutionalize sustained conflict preven-tion and resolution measures. The PDA in Uganda offered critical insights used to draft the National Peace Policy and revised Transitional Justice Policy, while also facilitating capacity-building on col-laborative leadership for the constitutionally mandated forum for political dialogue. In Côte d’Ivoire, the PDA helped conduct a vulnerability assessment and encouraged civil society participation in a more inclusive political dialogue process and national peace architecture. In the Republic of Congo, as part of a Peacebuilding Fund project in the Pool region, the PDA helped ensure that women com-prised 40 percent of participants in dialogues in reconciliation committees.

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During the 2019 Malawi general elections, the PDA supported implementation of the Ma-lawi Peace Architecture and National Peace Policy. The advisor drew government officials, members of political parties, and representatives of district peace committees, civil society and faith-based organizations together to develop systems for conflict early warning and response, while 30 insider mediators gained skills to defuse tensions. Around 140 young people learned to track electoral violence and report cases with a mobile app. Not only did they help limit outbreaks, but they also altered the typical narrative of youth as perpetrators of electoral violence.

In Sudan, amid sweeping political changes, the PDA team backstopped UN coordination of humanitarian, development and peacebuilding responses in the Abyei area, including through community dialogues to improve intercommunal relationships and reconciliation.

The 2017 armed conflict in Marawi City and other parts of Lanao del Sur (ranked as the poor-est province in the Philippines) displaced more than 350,000 people, and severely disrupt-ed businesses and other sources of employment and livelihood. UNDP helped an early re-covery digital cash transfer programme get off the ground in Marawi City and three other municipalities, reaching 10,000 internally displaced people with pre-paid ‘iAFFORD’ cards. A complementary project strengthened deradicalization efforts through the peaceful reinte-gration of people formerly associated with violent extremism. The project provided training on rehabilitation, reintegration and aftercare to government security and reformation officers, and orchestrated coordination among different groups assisting returnees, their families and their communities.

In Liberia, UNDP drew on reconciliatory dialogue, skills training, and access to finance to help diminish the drivers of conflict and vulnerability. In several communities with a history of instability, a comprehensive assessment triangulated the root causes of conflict with pov-erty and limited opportunities. Consultations with women business leaders helped define a programme of support to develop and manage viable local businesses. Training equipped over 200 women and 100 men with basic business and entrepreneurship skills, financial liter-acy and record-keeping, and marketing and sales management, and provided basic start-up equipment and links to financing. Some participants have now doubled their income, while expanding their businesses and creating jobs.

In Mauritania, along the border with Mali, extending services to marginalized communities calms local tensions. Through UNDP, a project in the wilaya of Hodh Echarghui has car-ried out income-generating activities improving livelihoods for 15,300 people, 60 percent of whom are women. The construction of a water tower and distribution network have brought drinking water to four villages with 2,650 inhabitants, while four new cattle vaccination parks were built and contributed to enhance food security and provide meat to 5,640 people with an estimated 44,000 cattle. The parks’ close proximity to animal breeders helps reduce con-flicts otherwise related to moving herds from village to village.

Niger’s Diffa and Liptako Gourma regions have been the most affected by Boko Haram and the Mali crisis. Conflict and violence have displaced approximately 195,000 people. Basic so-cial services have been disrupted, and production systems constrained. UNDP has improved access to services by constructing infrastructure for schools and health-care facilities serv-ing over 5,500 people. In Diffa, peace sensitization campaigns reached 10,500 people, and peacebuilding caravans improved social cohesion and trust between communities and the State. Mechanisms to re-integrate ex-associates of Boko Haram in their communities shifted public perspectives, with a greater share of people willing to support reintegration.

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In Moldova, dialogue, positive media coverage and small grants for innovations to improve cross-river exchanges and build trust are helping to bridge the conflict divide on the Nistru River. UNDP brought together 60 experts, influencers, journalists, civil activists, opinion mak-ers, civil society organizations and intellectuals from various ethnic and linguistic groups, and all age groups. An unprecedented free exchange of opinions has built trust and generated media reports shaping a new narrative around common values. The process has been an effective counterpoint to a long history of mistrustful public discourse on both banks and fosters a more benign environment around the political settlement process. Cross-river part-nerships have used the small grants for projects to improve life in the area, including through cultural exchange, joint research, and promotion of the two banks of the river as one tourist destination.

A rapid influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar into areas of Bangladesh already con-tending with poverty and environmental vulnerability has put immense pressure on infra-structure and public services. Social tension has risen, both between the refugees and host communities, and within communities themselves. UNDP has worked with local government authorities to reduce tensions on several fronts, such as by ensuring people know and can claim their legal rights. So far, 110 community police forums have reached out to nearly 2,300 religious leaders, ethnic minority groups and vulnerable populations, including women, of-fering sensitization sessions on community security and peaceful co-existence. Nearly 1,950 members of the forums have learned to respond to cases of sexual and gender-based vio-lence, and local police stations have established women’s desks and private interview rooms for confidential cases. In parallel, six mediator forums have been set up with 142 trained members who have resolved 545 community disputes. Legal aid centres have been activat-ed, with a 60 percent increase in cases referred from the local or upazilla level to the district level for mediation.

In the South-east Anatolia region of Turkey, local communities face continuing socio-eco-nomic pressures from the Syria crisis. Working through multi-purpose community centres, UNDP has successfully brought together women from Syria and host communities to improve understanding and foster social cohesion. Joint programmes develop livelihood skills and confidence, and encourage cultural exchanges. Through an ‘inclusive business’ approach, the project has partnered with Koton, Turkey’s biggest textile retailer, to establish links to mar-kets for handicrafts. Over 2,600 women have now sold items in Koton’s ‘handmade collec-tion’ line. Other activities to reach vulnerable groups in the region have included refurbishing local schools for children with disabilities and initiating a day-care centre for the elderly that links them to social, volunteering and other activities.

In Angola, UNDP has supported local governance, resilience-building and social cohesion as part of a joint project with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees under the regional plan for refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Building on national systems and coordination capacities, a strategic shift was made from emergency aid to development programmes to protect and empower refugees and local residents. Livelihood activities for both groups opened avenues to establish small businesses and links to markets, and for refugees to contribute to diversifying and strengthening the local economy. Refugees gained self-reliance and host-communities built resilience. Both worked towards greater well-being and peaceful co-existence.

In 2019, through a UNDP project in the Liptako Gourma region of Mali, an unstable zone bordering Burkina Faso and Niger, seven radio stations began systematically diffusing mes-sages relating to social peace and cohesion. Two citizen forums inspired fruitful exchanges on issues touching the lives of people on the border, many of which relate to nomadism and the management of shared natural resources. Over 400 people took part in discussions on acceptance of others, and respect for laws and customs, among other topics. Other events used sports to strengthen rapprochement between young people and members of the se-curity forces. Training tailored to 60 representatives of animal breeders’ organizations ad-vanced understanding of laws and regulations governing nomadism.

Work with the National Assembly in Mauritania helped revise the National Constitution. To widely disseminate its new provisions, a UNDP-supported radio campaign reached 87 per-cent of the national population, 3.4 million people, stressing empowering messages about the critical roles everyone can play in democratic institutions. UNDP has placed a sustained emphasis on engaging youth in the country. Eighty young members of peace and anti-rad-icalization committees learned to provide citizen education, foster democratic culture and social cohesion, and encourage participation in development. A platform for young people to exchange ideas and experiences and explore volunteering linked 65 youth associations in two cities, with some stepping forward as ‘champions of peace’ and models for young people active in local development.

At the end of 2019, to extend the reach of social inclusion and peacebuilding, UNDP mobi-lized 3,800 university students to debate the challenges and responsibilities of citizen par-ticipation as well as governance issues such as quotas for youth in decision-making. Some young leaders have gone on to take active parts as community volunteers in the fight against COVID-19.

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Capacities to deliver the SDGs

In the State of Palestine, UNDP worked with the National SDG Committee, which falls under the Prime Minister’s Office, to improve internal mechanisms to strengthen SDG leadership and coordination. This bolstered a collaborative space for different actors in the government as well as among international humanitarian and development organizations to accelerate the SDGs. A MAPS process assisted in identifying and addressing key challenges to and drivers of achieving the goals and proposed a series of accelerators. It was followed by a mid-term review of national strategies that focused on integrating the accelerators and align-ment with the SDGs. Under UNDP’s leadership, and in response to a request for support from the Prime Minister’s Office, this collaborative space now supports assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the SDGs.

In Jordan, UNDP supported a new SDG Parliamentary Working Group and promoted social media for parliamentarians to interact with the public on the goals. Engagement with the parliamentary Youth Committee centred on how the SDGs can help young people realize their aspirations. Outreach to women parliamentarians underscored closing legislative gaps leading to inequalities. At the Jordan Economic Forum, a dedicated session made a case specifically for major amendments to the Labour Law, including to provide flexible working hours, equal pay for equal work, and paternity leave.

The political transition in Sudan led to the postponement of some UNDP activities in 2019. But the ground was laid for a programme in Darfur and Eastern states to support local governance and the development of localized SDG planning. Under a whole-of-government approach, UNDP partnered with the University of Khartoum to develop a road map for federal and local governance during the country’s transitional period. It identified common challenges faced in local governance and defined short- and long-term proposals for reforms.

In Malaysia’s Sabah region, a process of inclusive SDG localization has emphasized map-ping the needs of undocumented and stateless people, who make up a significant popula-tion share. An early survey covering 15 districts and 1,200 people became part of developing a comprehensive database aimed at localizing SDG 10, on reduced inequalities, and SDG 16, on peace, justice and strong institutions. The findings will inform policy recommendations to reduce vulnerability.

Other efforts have focused on reviewing policy and institutional readiness for SDGs 14 and 15, on life below water and life on land, respectively. Initial consultations launched an assessment aimed at formulating the Sabah Biodiversity Master Plan. A pilot project has demonstrated how to create value chains for biological resources while sharing the benefits with indige-nous communities. The communities, the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre, government agencies and firms worked together on measures such as creating and implementing a system of prior informed consent from local peoples. With an eye towards supplying raw materials for animal health care and pharmaceuticals, UNDP helped develop capacities to scale-up cultivation of two species of plants and distil their essential oils, and forged links with local and foreign en-trepreneurs for product formulation, manufacturing and commercialization. A benefit-sharing agreement was signed with the communities to provide raw plant materials, and they have now established farms to propagate a sustainable supply.

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More inclusive and responsive governance

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Public administration

Women make up half of current employees in public institutions in Armenia. But the numbers diverge at the upper echelons, with women only occupying 21 percent of top leadership po-sitions. At the local level, the share is even lower, at 10 percent. Through UNDP, a project to track gender equality in public administration is establishing baseline data on gaps in gender parity, raising awareness among government officials and the public at large on the need to close the gaps. Several major research initiatives have measured public perception of the roles of women and men in public administration, with a countrywide survey reaching 1,200 respondents coupled with interviews with high-ranking officials. A second survey assessed perspectives of 1,100 students from 16 higher education institutions on opportunities and lim-itations as well as aspirations for careers in public administration. To begin rectifying some of the deficits, UNDP worked with the national Civil Service Office to develop a standard core competency framework for civil servants and trained 40 officials on modern human resource management and gender-sensitive recruitment. Armenia is also part of an international pilot to introduce the UNDP Gender Equality Seal Award Methodology at the Civil Service Office.

In Montenegro, UNDP assisted in devising a comprehensive education programme on gen-der mainstreaming in public administration and helped 40 trainers acquire new tools and skills. Other support responded to civil servants’ requests to integrate gender aspects in stra-tegic planning. Complementary research assessed the legal and regulatory framework on public administration and gender equality, surveying all 17 government ministries and 15 par-liamentary committees, and drawing on feedback from over 1,200 citizens. Survey findings informed a gender mainstreaming plan for the Human Resources Management Authority; a similar plan for Parliament is under preparation. UNDP also backed lobbying by the Wom-en’s Political Network, a 16-party coalition, to introduce gender-responsive policies, press for scaled-up financial allocations for women entrepreneurs, introduce legislative changes to better address gender-based violence. Their advocacy has led to a 40 percent gender quota in the new draft electoral law, and financial allocations from political parties for women’s forums.

In Lebanon, UNDP supported anti-corruption efforts by partnering with Lebanese Parliamen-tarians Against Corruption to advance a draft national anti-corruption institution law. A map-ping of information officers and capacity-building efforts increased compliance with the ac-cess to information law. UNDP also helped draft an updated National Anti-Corruption Strategy and supported its review and submission to the Council of Ministers. Analysis of the gender dimensions of corruption identified entry points for gender mainstreaming in anti-corruption activities, with an initial focus on corruption risk management in health care, labour and cus-toms. The process included the first engagement of women’s groups in Lebanon on these issues. An updated corruption risk methodology now integrates gender considerations.

In Uzbekistan, UNDP helped broker collaboration between the Presidential administration, the legislature and relevant ministries to pilot methods for assessing the impacts of legal acts by local governments, and for organizing work processes around draft local regulatory and legal acts and anti-corruption screening. A draft law on normative and legal acts was put forward mandating regulatory impact assessments, and through UNDP training, core staff of key economic ministries, think tanks, all regional khokimiyats (governorates) and three universities improved skills to perform the assessments. UNDP-supported analysis of state statistics led to proposed recommendations to capture comprehensive socio-economic data and fill gaps related to assessing regulatory decisions. Based on the recommendations of local councils and khokimiyats, and with inputs from analysis of public opinion, two draft regulations were developed on local budgets and revenue streams; both are currently under review. UNDP also helped develop guidelines supporting parliamentarians in monitoring the efficient utilization of public funds and on applying gender equality principles in legal acts. Close cooperation with the State Statistics Committee helped elaborate the first draft meth-odology for collecting gender-disaggregated statistics, with a minimum set of 52 gender indicators entered into the statistics system.

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Improved access to services

In Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, an assessment of pilot public service centres in Nukus city and Kungrad district identified concerns around long queues and distances to access ser-vices. It led to opening additional service branches, establishing an electronic queue man-agement system and introducing a mobile bus service to reach remote areas. Improved performance monitoring of the staff in the centres now tracks how many visitors it serves and how much time is required. Building on user surveys, a group of services related to the birth of a child and applying for a state pension have undergone business process re-engi-neering, with a joined-up service model that is a first in Uzbekistan. Collaboration with the Women’s Committee of Karakalpakstan established the Republican Centre for rehabilitation and adaptation of victims of violence and prevention of suicides in 2018. The centre provides emergency medical, psychological, social, educational, legal and other assistance to women in difficult situations, including those facing family problems and domestic violence. In 2019, the centre’s integrated service delivery model, which is based on international standards, inspired national recommendations to improve 197 shelters across the country.

A UNDP-supported project in Fiji scaled up the Start to Finish social service tracker, a digital tool improving access to and management of the Poverty Benefit Scheme, a social protection programme. The project built on a partnership with government counterparts in Bangladesh, as well as Soft BD, a software developer.

In Comoros, UNDP helped roll out a digital platform to strengthen inter-island consultation and the flow of vital business insights between the private sector and state actors. It hous-es information and computerized services of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Agriculture, at both the island and union levels, and provides up-to-the-minute business data and online training, as well as resources for those seeking and supplying business support services.

Lebanon’s town of Saida boasts a picturesque vaulted souk and iconic tourist spots. But the older part of the city is home to an impoverished community of Lebanese as well as Palestin-ian refugees, where a third of families have no family member employed. Local infrastructure has crumbled under the weight of age and limited resources for repairs. For several years, UNDP has worked on a variety of measures to improve the community and empower resi-dents. These include rehabilitating a municipal centre, and engaging youth in cash-for-work programmes and citizenship training. Other steps have responded to the call of residents for decent housing, prioritizing women-headed households as among the poorest of the poor. Homes have gained improved structural safety, hygienic water and sanitation facilities, and increased privacy. In 2019, as a second phase of the improvement plan, UNDP rehabilitated 14 local shops and provided essential equipment for 25 more.

The northern border area of Ecuador struggles with poverty, violence, unemployment, and a lack of basic services, with additional pressures from migration. UNDP has helped tackle three issues of concern: a culture of peace, productive capacities, and bi-national planning. In 2019, it worked with local officials to integrate peace principles in local planning. To strength-en value chains, a market analysis identified gaps and opportunities, and shaped a targeted strategy for improvement. The first combined planning exercise involving Ecuadorian and Colombian officials took place with participants from local, national and civil society insti-tutions. Through a consistent emphasis on inclusive economic development, communities have become more open to integrating migrants in the local economy. Migration issues are now integrated throughout national guidelines for local development planning and seven local governments trained to apply these, resulting in a local equality agenda in one case.

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V. Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction

In Nepal, UNDP backed multi-year frameworks for addressing disaster risks in seven provinc-es and 13 municipalities. The frameworks integrate actions in multiple sectors that influence and mitigate climate risks, and include disaster risk reduction policies and strategic action plans. One province is developing parameters to guide risk-informed investment. These achievements built on extensive consultations across provincial and municipal governments, civil society and the Nepal Red Cross Society. Thematic discussions took up priority issues such as education, health, water and sanitation, the environment, physical infrastructure, and build-back-better principles in reconstruction and rehabilitation. Though numerous, these steps ensured the frameworks are owned by the people who will implement them. The pro-cess also broadened knowledge of the importance of disaster risk reduction, from the local level up to national ministries.

Consistent engagement with vulnerable groups put a strong focus on their needs in the action plans. Communications strategies will be designed to reach marginalized and disem-powered groups, including women, children, the elderly and the disabled. Capacity-building will support vulnerable groups to participate in and contribute to disaster risk reduction ac-tivities. There are provisions for special arrangements for security for women, children, the elderly and disabled people during search, rescue and response, and for addressing their needs in post-disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation, including of physical infrastructure.

Disasters of all kinds are exacerbated by development decisions that heighten or reduce individuals’ and communities’ vulnerability to risk. Climate change will only intensify these perils. UNDP draws on decades of country-level experience to help shape risk-informed development interventions attuned to the web of relevant risks. Our integrated solutions mitigate and adapt to climate change, reduce disaster risk, and promote sustainable and efficient energy use.

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Defining the course to climate action Systematic outreach mobilized the private sector

Institutional frameworks improved

More NDC targets were refined and costed

Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are a locus of national planning for a future of decar-bonization and green jobs, delivering sustainable development alongside agreed climate change priorities under the Paris Agreement. UNDP’s NDC Support Programme provides tailored assistance to 39 countries to enhance and implement these climate action plans. The programme is critical in operationalizing and contributing to UNDP’s Climate Promise – the world’s largest offer of support to take forward the NDCs.

The NDC Programme helped generate a baseline measure of private sector mitigation commitments by 475 companies in Colombia. Two zero deforestation agreements for the meat and dairy industries were launched. In Chile, the “HuellaChile” initiative engaged 980 organizations (91 percent private) to register their carbon footprints and explore new, green markets. Experiences were shared with Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru, which are designing similar programmes. Viet Nam launched a vol-untary platform where private companies can benchmark and log their contributions to low-carbon, climate-resilient action.

Nigeria created an awards system to incentivize climate-friendly business. Training for business lead-ers in Uganda increased private sector readiness to invest in climate change initiatives. An online digital reporting tool now offers businesses a simple step-by-step assessment to identify how they can best contribute to the NDC and the SDGs.

In 2019, UNDP supported Costa Rica’s Climate Change Office to develop its National Decarboniza-tion Plan, a 2050 strategy to transform the current economic model into one based on a bio-econo-my, green growth, inclusion and the enhanced well-being of all citizens. Vanuatu, Kenya, and Trini-dad and Tobago all launched integrated tools for tracking, reporting and verifying greenhouse gas emissions, the progress of mitigation actions, climate finance flows and SDG benefits.

Ecuador was supported to review, revise and validate its first NDC, submitted in March 2019. The Inter-institutional Committee of Climate Change systematically engaged stakeholders to define de-tailed, gender-responsive NDC roadmaps. Similarly, in Tunisia, an extensive two-year consultation was undertaken with key stakeholders to produce a comprehensive NDC implementation roadmap detailing NDC targets and how to achieve them.

In Morocco, UNDP helped undertake assessments of investments and financial flows in the energy, housing and water sectors, which provided critical understanding of financial needs for investors to target. On this basis, Morocco updated its low-emissions development strategy and began revising its NDC. In Ghana, economy-wide NDC mitigation targets were disaggregated to sector targets, which led to the development of sectoral mitigation plans for energy and waste, with specific attention to emissions from extractive industries. Colombia adopted a climate-smart sectoral management plan for housing, territory and cities, and integrated gender into a similar plan for mines and energy.

New tools helped the Philippines model the economic impacts of mitigation scenarios, determine trade-offs between emission reductions and growth, and define alternative low-carbon policies in line with the national 2040 development vision. Côte d’Ivoire defined climate- and gender-sensitive criteria and indicators, and reflected these in the 2021-2025 National Development Plan.

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VI. Emergency Development Response to Crisis and Recovery Extreme weather and rainfall variability, and periods of flooding followed by drought, have

impacted the livelihood security of farmers and herders, who account for over 90 percent of the population in Niger. UNDP has identified areas considered most vulnerable to food crisis and supported these communities to assist the most at-risk households, with a specific focus on households headed by women. In Liptako Gourma, two farms powered by solar energy have increased the production capacity of 500 farmers, including 400 women. The project provided training on improved agricultural techniques and provided 18.6 tons of improved seeds to 7,000 households. Two facilities now safely store 72 tonnes of essential food, such as rice, peanuts, cowpeas and millet, improving resilience when food shortages arise.

Improving resilience for the most vulnerable

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Disasters and violent conflicts erode development gains and render communities acutely vulnerable to future risks and shocks. UNDP seeks to ensure an enduring recovery from crises, with a focus on resilience, in line with the 2030 Agenda. Our solutions emphasize both effective crisis management and the sustainable recovery of lost capacities, assets and resources. We gear efforts towards help-ing communities and countries to swiftly resume their normal development path. UNDP works directly with national and international humanitarian and development partners, including civil society and the private sector, to initiate recovery as early as possible in the humanitarian cycle.

An inclusive approach to strengthening productive capacities in Mauritania empowered women leaders and heads of households in communities highly vulnerable to drought and other environmental factors. Women in 94 local cooperatives established microenterprises and learned techniques for processing and marketing local products such as soap and jam. The installation of processing equipment, including solar refrigerators, has saved time on their tasks, boosted productivity and supported social cohesion. The refrigerators help con-serve food for the whole community. By keeping food fresh, they also facilitate commercial diversification.

In 11 kebeles (villages) of Gedeo and West Guji in Ethiopia, conflict-displaced people return-ing home did not have the resources to reconstruct damaged houses. UNDP helped restore over 2,100 houses, using low-cost, simple technologies, and prioritizing the most vulnerable households. To restart livelihoods, the project distributed improved seeds to 2,400 small-holder farmers, and basic farming tools such as hoes and axes to 3,000 farmers. Sixty coop-eratives were established and supported with seed money to start various businesses, while 36 women’s self-help groups received start-up grants for animal fattening, poultry production and petty trade, among other activities.

In Burkina Faso, UNDP mobilized people behind solutions to low levels of employment among youth in rural and marginalized areas most affected by the security crisis. After 62 civil society organizations improved capacities for managing microenterprises and processing lo-cal products, each group subsequently hired around 10 young people. In 30 rural communes, UNDP helped restore local infrastructure, including for sanitation and hygiene. Labour-inten-sive activities provided 955 jobs for over 700 young people as well as vulnerable women and people with disabilities.

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Djibouti faces extreme vulnerability to climate change, with protracted drought and other shifts already displacing a growing number of people. Piloting solutions that build resilience is key to the country’s future. One solution developed by UNDP responds to the multiple needs of 2,600 persons displaced by climate who cluster in tents in the semi-urban area of Damerjog. After working with them on a detailed mapping of priority needs, UNDP devel-oped a package of interventions. These encompassed building a water system and training local youth to maintain it. The construction of latrines, with separate spaces for women and children, stopped open defecation and reduced the spread of disease. UNDP provided a mobile clinic and constructed a health center on-site. At a learning centre, volunteer teachers help children continue their education. Solar kits have gone to each household, comprising a fan, two solar lamps, a television and a battery.

UNDP successfully advocated that the national authority formally provide land for the com-munity, while a committee of camp residents has worked with the Ministry of Housing on de-veloping plans for more permanent living, with individual houses, schools and health facilities. Together with youth innovators, UNDP is co-designing climate-resilient model houses to be constructed by the community. A microcredit system is under development to channel much needed finance into small local businesses to restart livelihoods and improve incomes.

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A UNDP project in the State of Palestine developed multiple renewable energy solutions, such as solar ovens for some of the most deprived households in the Gaza Strip. It assisted the ministries of health and education with a roadmap for instituting renewable energy for 74 health facilities and 409 schools so they can operate during protracted blackouts. Other measures to improve the quality of life amid ongoing crisis include renovating a garden with recycled materials; it is used by over 84,000 residents in Khan Younis.

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Bolstering prospects for stability and peace

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To better understand the fragility and vulnerability of individuals and communities in Syria, and gain a foothold for more participatory planning and needs-based interventions, UNDP supported local context analyses of the cities of Dara’a and Deir-Ezzor. In Dara’a, findings have already helped adjust initiatives under a European Union and United Nations joint pro-gramme. The exercise provides a model for conflict sensitivity, making programmes more effective and conveying to people on the ground that their problems are understood.

In a commercial and residential area of Deir-Ezzour, one of the areas most severely affected by conflict, UNDP helped rehabilitate infrastructure benefitting 25,000 residents. This includ-ed the repair of three kilometres of electricity networks and two kilometres of water networks. The process provided short-term employment while restoring essential services and reviving businesses, and encouraged displaced people to return home. In neighbouring rural areas, where agriculture drives the local economy, UNDP helped boost productivity by procuring and installing pumping stations that bring water from the Euphrates River into the fields of two agricultural cooperatives with 900 farmers.

Since civil society organisations in Syria are well positioned as first responders with direct outreach to people and local communities, UNDP developed the capacities of over 100 or-ganizations to effectively operate and deliver services and support to vulnerable groups. Community-based awareness campaigns covered a wide range of legal topics pertinent to many people in Syria, such as the family status law and civil documentation, women’s rights and gender equality, and property rights law. Strengthened capacities among alternative dis-pute resolution and community justice actors in rural Damascus and Qamishli supported the peaceful resolution of local disputes and led to the formation of local alternative dispute res-olution committees that are positively influencing decisions, especially in relation to women’s rights, and housing, land and property disputes.

A consortium of UN agencies, including UNDP and local NGOs, launched the RE-INTEG proj-ect in Somalia in 2017, aimed at addressing the challenges and hardships faced by internally displaced and returnee communities. In 2019, an Urban Durable Solutions Taskforce was set up in the Benadir Regional Administration to lead the development of a planning strategy for Mogadishu that integrates low-income housing units, employment opportunities and ba-sic service provision. Displaced people were trained to install and maintain solar panels for electricity. The panels now generate electricity for two health clinics and two schools serving thousands of vulnerable people in two city districts.

As part of the “Future Ready” initiative, UNDP organized an innovation training for trainers in Hargeisa. Five top innovation hubs came together to teach Somali youth the latest innovation methodologies, such as human-centered design. These skills will enable them to improve their own livelihoods and pass on new skills to others. A second training in Egypt equipped 20 potential future-ready trainers with skills in web development, cybersecurity and software development.

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Immediately after Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique, UNDP coordinated technical assistance for all clusters of humanitarian actors to integrate early recovery activities across the humani-tarian response. Support helped the Government conduct a post-disaster needs assessment, hold a donor pledging conference and develop a National Disaster Recovery Framework. On the ground, UNDP’s quick issuance of guidelines on disposing debris containing asbestos, coupled with training for local government staff, supported the safe removal of toxic materials.

Cash-for-work schemes reached over 103,000 families, providing temporary employment in waste disposal and the rehabilitation of productive community assets and other tasks essen-tial for recovery. The schemes offered basic tools and training to develop income generation activities and small businesses. UNDP also reviewed construction guidelines for public build-ings and produced detailed recommendations for revising them in line with safety standards. It rehabilitated, retrofitted and constructed three model houses based on the guidelines, and developed training packages for safe construction for both engineers and artisans. Training for over 150 local masons on safe techniques led to the construction of an additional 40 hous-es, three markets, and three stores in the hard-hit Dondo and Chibabava districts. Partnership with the World Food Programme accelerated other key steps towards recovery for communi-ties dependent on agriculture, such as the rehabilitation of silted and salinized fields, and the construction of improved grain storage facilities.

Cyclone Idai also swept through Zimbabwe, where UNDP supported early recovery in two of the most affected districts, Chipinge and Chimanimani. Cash-for-work programmes were rapidly created to restore critical infrastructure such as water systems, giving first priority to people with special needs, such as those living with a disability, households headed by women or children, and those who lost family members, especially income earners. Grants and the restoration of productive assets such as water systems helped nearly 28,000 people restart livelihoods. Training on disaster risk reduction aided communities in better preparing for future disasters.

Nationally, UNDP conducted an early assessment of recovery priorities for the Government, the UN country team, NGOs, and provincial and district agencies. This helped direct organi-zations to sites where immediate support was needed and provided a synopsis of priorities for the Idai Flash Appeal. Through meticulous data collection, matrix analyses and an early recovery support funding tracking tool, provincial and district decision-makers were able to monitor activities and support partner coordination. The visibility of early recovery as a priority was such that the government set up the Idai Response Task Team, co-chaired with UNDP. It contributed to defining early recovery priorities for action by eight national ministries.

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UNDP helped Malawi develop a national disaster recovery framework. Repeatedly struck by disasters, the country has gained significant experience in post-disaster needs assessments, but management and monitoring of recovery have remained challenging. The recovery framework provides a solid basis for stronger coordination. Measures to demonstrate recov-ery priorities for the most vulnerable groups have included building climate-resilient houses for 50 households otherwise stranded in makeshift temporary shelters, leading local authori-ties to endorse construction of an additional 380 houses. In a community reliant on irrigation for crops, the rehabilitation of a weir and canal reclaimed more than 80 hectares of unusable land and provided long-lasting benefits to 200 households as they restarted cultivation.

In Niger, UNDP helped strengthen the capacities of local administrations, civil society and academia on recovery and post-disaster needs assessments. Training prepared 180 nation-al experts to apply current assessment methodologies and data collection techniques. The Ministry of Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management developed a national recovery strategy and related financing plan. These efforts have been coupled with a series of demon-stration projects, such as collecting 6,000 tons of waste in the city of Niamey to help pre-vent flooding while improving living conditions and providing income to vulnerable groups. The construction of stabilized earth houses, family latrines and a drinking water system in Albarkaizé sped up community recovery from flooding for 60 women-headed households.

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After the Fuego volcano erupted in Guatemala, UNDP worked with affected families, commu-nity organizations and local governments to plan recovery. The highly participatory process meant that empowerment and protection objectives reinforced each other, including through specific interventions adapted to the most vulnerable people. These focused on restoring livelihoods and services essential to social, emotional, economic and physical well-being. The process improved the capacities of key government institutions to conduct and coor-dinate this kind of planning moving forward. Equally important, the process built public trust through engagement and responsiveness to local needs. Other avenues of UNDP support encompassed improved instruments for monitoring and developing technical capabilities for data processing, interpretation, and analysis, which yield more accurate information on vol-canic activity.

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UNDP recovery programmes in Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda helped restore hous-ing and rehabilitate key public infrastructure based on comprehensive assessments after Hurricanes Irma and Maria. UNDP also played an instrumental part in supporting Domini-ca’s new Climate Resilience Execution Agency. It coordinates strategic resilience initiatives towards an ambitious goal: becoming the world’s first climate resilient nation. The agency will work from a national Climate Resilience and Recovery Plan with a strong emphasis on reaching vulnerable communities. For the Caribbean as a whole, the CARICOM (Caribbean Community) Heads of Government meeting in Guyana rolled out a regional Recovery and Resilience Facility, slated to begin in 2020.

UNDP technical experts worked with senior government personnel, NGOs and community organizations from Dominica, British Virgin Islands, and Antigua and Barbuda to discuss how to apply blue economy principles to national development priorities. The concept compris-es appropriate management of coastal habitats to prevent erosion as well as flooding from storms and increasing sea levels. The British Virgin Islands has gone on to develop a Stra-tegic Blue Economy Roadmap to guide the sustainable development of maritime activities. At the Small Island Future Fest, quickly becoming the premier environmental festival in the Caribbean, events to further promote the blue economy included a vibrant debate among youth on renewable energy, food security, the blue economy and resilience.

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Based on a 2018 post-disaster needs assessment conducted in the wake of deadly flooding in India’s state of Kerala, UNDP helped develop early recovery proposals related to hous-ing, livelihoods and disaster risk management. Among other measures, state planning now includes steps to strengthen shelters, design appropriate housing for marginalized com-munities, conduct technical training on retrofitting buildings, roll out community disaster risk management and bolster hospital safety. A study on Kerala’s informal workers assessed the challenges and risks they face from natural disasters, and proposed skill development and placement programmes to improve well-being and resilience.

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After Tropical Cyclone Gita hit Tonga in 2018 and destroyed the Parliamentary Chambers, UNDP rapidly mobilized parliaments in Fiji and New Zealand, as well as national and subna-tional parliaments in Australia, to lend IT equipment to restore parliamentary operations. In 2019, continued capacity development helped the Tonga Legislative Assembly optimize use of the new equipment, including through cloud-based solutions that offer protection from future disasters. Tonga has become one of the few countries with an e-parliament plan. It had a strong base to maintain legislative functions as it responded to the COVID-19 pandemic

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Caribbean small island developing states connect recovery and resilience

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Programmes to restore and deepen social cohesion provide new social and economic op-tions for people otherwise vulnerable to conflict. In Mali, UNDP worked with the National Youth Directorate to improve conditions for young people susceptible to recruitment into armed groups perpetrating inter-community conflicts. In the Mopti and Gao regions, UNDP helped lessen conflicts around pastoral resources by developing 75 kilometres of routes and regenerating 100 hectares of flooded pastures. Enough fodder is now readily available to feed livestock for six months.

In Chad, UNDP targeted areas with significant numbers of refugees and returnees, helping to restore economic foundations and stabilize communities, starting with women and youth. Among other results, in three regions, 3,000 women were employed in constructing and rehabilitating damaged infrastructure. Another 6,000 women started income-generating ac-tivities, while 2,000 young people entered vocational training.

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In Colombia’s border areas of Norte de Santander, La Guajira and Arauca, UNDP helped address acute vulnerabilities of nearly 3,300 refugees and migrants, including a number flee-ing Venezuela. A combination of strategies generated opportunities for greater well-being, promoted social cohesion and the prevention of violence, and fostered recognition of the reality that the migrant population may remain in Colombia for some time. In 2019, a labour market needs assessment identified potential local economic development opportunities most likely to generate livelihoods. This informed the creation of nearly 59 productive units offering employment for migrants and vulnerable host communities. Two platforms link more than 40 institutions coordinating efforts to provide employment and entrepreneurship op-portunities and restore services. Four citizen networks in three local municipalities advocate peaceful coexistence, and actively engage communities to prevent violence and xenopho-bia. In La Guajira, public awareness-raising is linked with concrete community actions that bring migrants and host communities together to clean streets, rehabilitate public spaces and establish community gardens. The national Government has declared the initiative there an innovative social cohesion strategy.

In Roraima, the state in Brazil with the largest number of Venezuelan migrants, UNDP creat-ed networks of migrants, businesspeople, public managers and civil society to devise joint actions to accelerate local development for everyone. Design workshops created 12 collabo-rative projects related to public policies and social impact initiatives, with five garnering finan-cial and technical support for implementation. They include a platform linking resources for employment, and steps to involve migrants in strengthened cooperative enterprises. ‘Women Who Shine’ brings Brazilian and Venezuelan women together in empowering activities such as art therapy. The project also devised the toolkit Develop! (Desenvolve! in Portuguese), which features a board game to map different options and strategies, and an online platform and mobile app outlining local capabilities and problems. The platform helps public manag-ers define priorities and generate local development plans, including through feedback from citizens provided via the mobile app.

To bridge humanitarian assistance and sustainable development in Peru’s district of San Martín de Porres, now sheltering the country’s greatest number of people fleeing Venezuela, UNDP supported measures combining livelihoods and sociocultural cohesion. By the end of 2019, over 6,800 people had participated in the School of Entrepreneurs, which reached a mix of migrants and host community members. For people from both communities to solve social problems together, UNDP encouraged the incorporation of migrant women and men in Brigadistas in Action against Violence, a local group that sensitizes the population on report-ing cases of violence. The migrant volunteers help ensure that these messages reach their communities as well.

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Taking a comprehensive approach to resolve fragility and its many drivers

People in fragile contexts are among the furthest behind, often caught in a complex brew of the mul-tiple drivers and consequences of fragility. Conflict, forced displacement, violent extremism, famine and environmental deterioration are in this mix, among other issues. Fragility therefore calls for work-ing on multiple issues simultaneously and making links across government and society. UNDP takes this approach in a number of fragile contexts, such as in South Sudan, with its long legacy of conflict, poverty and environmental pressures, and its struggle to develop as one of the world’s youngest na-tions. UNDP programmes operate at a nexus of issues including peace, governance, justice, gender equality, economic resources and disaster risks.

In 2019 in South Sudan, UNDP facilitated regional conferences in Bahr el Ghazal and Greater Equa-toria that involved a spectrum of political parties, women and youth, people with disabilities, veterans, older people and people who have been internally displaced. Talks covered wide-ranging topics such as federalism and forms of government, the sharing of oil revenues, land issues, and diversity and inclusion. Recommendations to end conflict and resume a development path will feed into a national dialogue. A Political Parties Forum was established as a standing platform for inter-party dialogue on peace issues and a vehicle for collectively supporting political party development. A functional assessment of 27 transitional institutions gauged their capacities and readiness to imple-ment the peace agreement. The assessment lay the groundwork for 70 experts to work with 760 civil servants in positions central to implementing mandated reforms.

In the Bor and Aweil regions, UNDP worked with the Council of Traditional Authorities and Leaders on arbitrating potentially inflammatory property rights cases between host communities and returnees, a mix of internally displaced people and refugees. This engagement brokered agreement on issues such as the need to strengthen the land allocation system to avoid duplication of title deeds, develop a proactive plan for reintegration to limit conflict, and train councillors on human rights and gender mainstreaming. Community consultations organized prior to the nomination of members of the coun-cils defined criteria for more inclusive selection, including of women, youth and minority groups. Long dominated by men, the councils now have more diverse representation. Women members have begun transforming how the councils mete out justice, such as by referring rape cases to the police instead of the previous practice of allowing perpetrators to avoid charges by paying off victims.

Work with over 80 county-level peace committees in Aweil, Yambio, Bentiu, Rumbek, Torit and Bor reinforced local mechanisms for peaceful dialogue and conflict resolution, enabling the committees to resolve hundreds of disputes or conflicts stemming from cattle rustling, child abductions, sexual and gender-based violence and disagreements over natural resources. Two-thirds of people in areas covered by the committees, up from less than a quarter at the start of the project, reported a signifi-cant decline in intercommunal conflict and violence as a result.

Partnerships with eight civil society organizations raised awareness and provided legal advice to 7,200 people in the localities of Torit, Bentiu, Juba, Wau, Yambio, Malakal, Bor and Aweil. Outreach sensitized people on human rights, land rights, and sexual and gender-based violence. UNDP also helped establish the country’s first court focused on gender-based violence and juvenile justice, im-proving responsiveness to victims and expediting trials.

Nationally, UNDP assisted a review of the public financial management act in terms of the soundness and inclusiveness of planning and resource allocation. It also looked at fitness for managing disaster risks and responding to disasters. Recommended revisions include clearer targeting of marginalized and underdeveloped communities as the country implements the peace agreement, and prioritizing women’s challenges in planning and budgeting, including to expand livelihood opportunities and roles in public procurement. The government has now moved to develop a framework guiding more equitable distribution of resources and improving financial accountability, which has already signifi-cantly improved domestic resource mobilization.

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VII. Keeping Up with the Challenges We FaceThe Funding Windows are global and ambitious; the challenges we face are accordingly broad and varied. In 2019, these stemmed primarily from operating in unstable country contexts and driving for-ward programming to bridge humanitarian and development efforts through early recovery, pursue more integrated programming, and reach those left furthest behind.

Efforts to define and reach the most marginalized people proved difficult for several projects, for reasons including insufficient information and access challenges. The lack of formal data on undocu-mented and stateless persons complicated the project in Sabah, Malaysia, for instance. The project used survey methods to collect data, and obtained some from NGOs and local authorities, as well as the International Organization of Migration through their Displacement Tracking Method. Access to communities was complicated by logistics, and their fear of raids and arrests. To mitigate concerns, the research team engaged with communities over time and worked through local leaders to gain trust. The team also allocated some funding for food and supplies to be distributed to people in need as a further statement of good will.

In Viet Nam, efforts to link marginalized women to markets and business partnerships ran up against their limited understanding and use of IT devices, even as market access now requires higher levels of efficiency and product standards. A longer engagement to change attitudes as well as build capac-ities to apply new technologies proved necessary.

Overcoming barriers to reach the most marginalized

Advancing gender equality

Funding Window projects have increasingly integrated gender equality as a primary or major focus. But the structural drivers of gender discrimination have deep roots, requiring constant vigilance to detect and respond to them. In Uganda, one of the pilots of the global project on gender-based violence saw a significant challenge from an unanticipated finding in formative research. It revealed that a wetlands restoration and alternative livelihoods project funded by the Green Climate Fund and set to integrate work on gender-based violence and the SDGs may have inadvertently exacerbated gender inequalities and could increase women’s exposure to violence. Prevention measures are now streamlined throughout the wetlands project, and the project team is developing ‘do no harm’ guid-ance in a context where understanding of and capacities to address gender-based violence are low.

While gender issues were repeatedly identified as a priority by the state government of Piaui and some local managers in Brazil, solutions offered were sectoral and rhetorical. After UNDP developed 20 solutions, only some were funded by local authorities. Financing was obtained from the private sector, pointing to broader support for the initiative.

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UNDP plays a leading role in expanding support for recovery, yet still faces longstanding institutional patterns in the international community that tend to strictly divide humanitarian and development efforts. This was evident amid the influx of migrants to Colombia. The international community has focused mainly on humanitarian and protection issues, with most resources destined for the emer-gency at the borders. Resources for socio-economic integration, strengthening institutional capacity and conflict prevention are scarce, even though these issues are high priorities of the Colombian Government. To help bridge the gaps, UNDP has positioned itself strategically, offering early recovery within a more comprehensive socio-economic response.

Young people have featured prominently in UNDP’s economic empowerment and social cohesion projects, but less so in other programme areas. This gap has started to close through a growing com-mitment to broadening acceptance of their leadership in governance and other areas of life. In 2019, this saw the mobilization of 3,800 university students in Mauritania to debate issues such as quotas for youth in decision-making. In Malawi’s general elections, young people were trained to track and report cases of violence with a mobile app, limiting conflict and altering ideas that youth are mainly perpetrators of electoral violence.

Syria’s ongoing and severe brain-drain has sharply curtailed the efficiency of the civil sector. To face high turnover, UNDP has adopted a continuous capacity development programme. In a novel turn, this includes support for youth leaders in emerging NGOs and civil society organizations. While young people have not traditionally considered careers in civil society, many are now driven by the desire to make an impact and contribute to Syria’s future.

In Zimbabwe, an early recovery cluster was not activated for the Cyclone Idai response, which meant that the UN Country Team was not obliged to include early recovery in its institutional response. As an alternative, an early recovery working group was created, which required working sector by sec-tor with sister agencies. Delay in deciding which communities in high-risk areas would be resettled complicated delivery of recovery support.

Expanding support for recovery

Broadening partnerships and deepening integration

Harmonizing with national initiatives

Targeting capacity development

Investing in youth

A number of projects deepened efforts to coordinate diverse actors and work towards more cross-sector, integrated approaches to development. A project on SDG acceleration in Azerbaijan initially encountered constraints in working with only one or two implementing partners identified in the project document. It subsequently engaged with more public institutions and built partnerships in each area under the SDG National Coordination Council. It also found that identifying and reaching non-traditional stakeholders requires non-conventional ways of working. This led the project to pro-vide dedicated technical support to the council as well as development partners to identify disadvan-taged and vulnerable communities.

Gaps in project planning complicated projects in several countries, particularly in relationship to gov-ernment planning and legislative cycles. In Fiji, the Government launched Digital Fiji, an initiative to digitize services, after UNDP had begun a similar digitization initiative on a separate platform. The latter will likely not be sustained, underscoring the need to continuously work with government coun-terparts to ensure harmonized actions.

Political changes and high turnover of public servants continued to be challenges for BIOFIN in 2019. Biodiversity finance solutions require specialized skills and introduce innovative financial mecha-nisms, many of which have never been used in a country before. Further, while BIOFIN’s work has attracted interest and opportunities for cooperation with the private sector, corporate knowledge of biodiversity is limited. Firms are more interested in funding projects that show fast results, whereas biodiversity projects have a long gestation period. Projects have found that changing the mindset of corporate actors is challenging, but can be done through open dialogue, capacity development, and communications and advocacy.

UNDP in Jordan found that the project needed to more closely track the parliamentary cycle and calendar of political events to identify opportunities for complementarity. The adjournment of parlia-mentary sessions, for instance, provided room to work with parliamentary staff. Longer term projects, preferably covering the whole four-year parliamentary term, would be better placed to correspond to the parliamentary cycle.

Opening space in political processes

National sensitivities and political dynamics frequently limit the pace and scale of development ini-tiatives. Consensus-building requires patience and a staged approach. A project in Peru brought a range of actors together to increase understanding of the benefits of addressing migration. Finding topics of common interest, such as stopping outbreaks of violence, proved successful in reducing arguments against integration.

In response to international scrutiny of the situation in Rakhine state, the Government in Myanmar has restricted work on peacebuilding and conflict sensitivity. A UNDP project deliberately focused on less controversial activities such as negotiation and mediation training, which helped build rapport with key government ministries. After a year’s delay, a Working Group on Conflict Sensitivity was ap-proved by the President’s Office.

64 65

Broadening the donor base and balancing flexible and earmarked funds

Currently a relatively small number of donors support the Funding Windows. UNDP will make greater efforts to diversify contributors going forward and encourage new partners to join and make con-tributions more flexible, in line with the Funding Compact. In 2019, the majority of contributions was earmarked for global projects to be implemented from 2020 to 2028. UNDP agreed to such global earmarking given the large scale of the global projects, benefitting multiple countries with a signifi-cant contribution to delivering on UNDP’s Strategic Plan.

VIII. Looking Forward: A New Era for the Funding Windows2019, the fourth year of the Funding Windows’ operation, offered a good opportunity to reflect on our experiences in order to better tailor our offering for partners. Driven by the UN Funding Compact’s commitments on thematic funding, we also sought to align more closely with UNDP’s core mandate and Strategic Plan. To these ends, we explored new directions and an enhanced offer by engaging with contributing and non-contributing partners, and with in-house technical teams. The result was a revamped structure for the Funding Windows, which went into effect in the second half of 2019. It of-fers a more bold and agile mechanism for pooled, flexible funding, with a series of attractive features, and the potential to motivate increased contributions.

Governance, Peacebuilding, Crisis, and Resilience• Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction• Crisis Response

Poverty and Inequality

Nature, Climate and Energy

Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

The four revised windows are up and running and are structured as follows:

UNDP Syria

66 67

Each window makes a significant contribution to the three development settings outlined in the Strategic Plan as well as to the six signature solutions.

Keeping people out of poverty: Address interconnected social, economic, and environmental challenges faced by the poor and vulnerable, by focusing on determinants of both “exiting” poverty (e.g. access to basic services, jobs and livelihoods) and “falling back” into poverty.

Strengthen governance processes and institutions that enable inclusive participation, ensure equal access to quality services; build societies in which all people benefit from peace, justice and security; and strengthen risk-informed development and the resilience of people, communities and countries to anticipate, prevent, and recover from disasters, conflicts and shocks and stresses.

Support the creation of a virtuous cycle of healthy ecosystems through their protection, restoration, and sustainable management; address climate change through ambitious and accelerated action, with resilient approaches; and promote transition from predominantly fossil fuels to more sustainable energy systems, by making more accessible and affordable.

Improve capacities to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, empower women economically, promote women’s participation in all forms of decision-making, and strengthen their resilience to crisis.

POVERTY AND INEQUALITY

OUTCOME 1Eradicating Poverty

OUTCOME 2Accelerating Structural

Transformation

OUTCOME 3Strengthen Resilience to

Shocks & Crisis

GOVERNANCE, PEACEBUIILDING,

CRISIS AND RESILIENCE

NATURE, CLIMATE AND ENERGY

GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN’S

EMPOWERMENT

Poverty

Governance

Environment

Gender

Resilience

Energy

For contributing partners, the revamped Funding Windows offer an improved fit with their objectives for thematic funding. Each window defines a portfolio of thematic interventions. Contributions can be targeted at the Funding Window level and pooled with other funds for greater impact and flexibility. Or, they can be targeted to specific regions or global initiatives aligned with partner priorities3.

The new windows reduce fragmentation by supporting integrated solutions to cross-cutting devel-opment challenges. The Nature, Climate and Energy Window, for example, will reframe climate and natural capital investments as an opportunity to advance multiple SDGs, while simultaneously accel-erating climate action. Our aim is to transform market, policy and institutional failures into opportuni-ties and solutions.

All windows will continue to emphasize gender analysis and responsiveness. But a new standalone window on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment reflects the interest of several government funding partners for a mechanism for dedicated programming. Contributions to this window will help address the root causes of gender inequalities to unlock accelerated progress for women and girls.

We have strengthened partner engagement on priority development issues through the Advisory Group and new Technical Advisory Committees. The latter will comprise experts from partners and UNDP’s Global Policy Network. Routinely leveraging the full breadth of expertise in the Global Pol-icy Network will help identify areas of investment, develop robust proposal pipelines, provide mul-tidisciplinary vetting and drive high-quality projects that deliver greater results. A suite of corporate reporting and project-measurement tools—including those using artificial intelligence and machine learning—will consolidate UNDP’s abundant results data and inform evidence-based programme and policy work. 3. In 2018, 55 percent of all funds received were earmarked to global projects, and this increased to 74 percent in 2019

despite commitments to collectively change behaviour under the Funding Compact. Recognizing that some donors’ budgetary systems may necessitate some level of earmarking, UNDP has agreed to earmarking to global programmes that benefit multiple countries across key areas of UNDP’s work. Greater efforts are needed on both sides to increase the proportion of flexible contributions to the Funding Windows and to help deliver meaningful development returns.

69

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was launched in an era of optimism and ambition, albeit with a keen awareness of the serious challenges the global community faces. The events of 2020 have fundamentally reshaped the development landscape for the foreseeable future. COVID-19 is a unique challenge that has rendered the pursuit of the SDGs infinitely more complex just as it has heightened the urgency of their achievement. That reality, and its inherent uncertainty, will inevitably shape how UNDP and the Funding Windows deliver for development.

Even before the full brunt of the pandemic was felt in the poorest countries, the economic and social impacts were already acutely apparent. We cannot yet predict nor properly fathom the scale of the devastation that the crisis might inflict on the world’s most vulnerable groups. But we do know that root causes of suffering are not neatly siloed—and responses cannot be either. UNDP will need to continue to deliver comprehensive and sustainable solutions with meaningful impacts across the spectrum of development challenges.

UNDP’s ability to design and deliver these solutions will depend on the continued willingness of gov-ernments to invest in the long term. With greater uncertainty and a looming fear of global recession, governments are looking inward to tackle national socio-economic challenges. Official development assistance (ODA) is likely to come under increased scrutiny and may contract. Available resources may be reallocated to respond exclusively to COVID-related health and humanitarian emergencies, further undermining long-term development goals.

Decisions made now can have potentially transformative or devastating impacts for years to come. Flexible funding, such as that provided through the Funding Windows, will enable countries to re-spond more effectively based on their own priorities, whether to reach people in need faster, protect the most vulnerable, empower local actors or devise community-specific recovery plans.

The revamped Funding Windows offer a robust mechanism to act immediately in preventing COVID-19 risks, supporting socio-economic response and recovery, and even seizing opportunities to move towards greater inclusion and sustainability. In March 2020, as UNDP set aside $30 million to support governments’ COVID-19 priorities through the Rapid Response Facility, the Funding Windows were selected as the most effective way to rapidly and flexibly channel these resources to countries. These investments have already prepared and protected communities around the world, and better equipped governments to respond to COVID-19.

Looking ahead, the Funding Windows’ response to COVID-19 will be in step with UNDP’s offer, Be-yond Recovery: Towards 2030, and the organization’s responsibility to spearhead the United Na-tions’ socio-economic response. Investments will help decision-makers look beyond immediate re-covery, towards 2030, and make informed choices to managing complexity and uncertainty.

Responding to COVID-19: A new development reality

“Everything we do during and after this crisis must be with a strong focus on building more equal, inclusive and sustainable economies and societies that are more resilient in the face of pandemics, climate change and the many other global challenges we face.”

—UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

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IX. Financial ResourcesIn 2019, the Funding Windows mobilized $103 million from eight government partners. In order of contribution, they are: Germany, Demark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Luxem-bourg, and the Republic of Korea. (Figure 1)

Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication (SDPE) $1.6m

Contributors per Funding Window

INNER CIRCLE: ORIGINAL STRUCTURE

INNER CIRCLE: REVAMPED STRUCTURE

OUTER CIRCLE

Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCDRR) $2.1m

Governance, Peacebuilding, Crisis, and Resilience (GPCR) $34.3m

Governance for Inclusive and Peaceful Societies (GIPS) $11.6m

Emergency Development Response to Crisis and Recovery (EDRCR) $7.2m

Nature, Climate, and Energy (NCE) $45.7m

Luxembourg $1.6m

Denmark $7.2mLuxembourg $1.3m

Republic of Korea $3.1mGermany $1.6mLuxembourg $0.45m

Denmark $7.2m

Germany $6.6m

Germany $45.7m

Netherlands $10.0m

Sweden $9.2mSwitzerland $4.7mNorway $3.8m

FIGURE 1. 2019 CONTRIBUTIONS BY DONOR AND FUNDING WINDOWR

evamped Funding Windows

Revamped Funding Win

dow

s R

evam

ped

Fund

ing W

indows

70 71

This is by far the most successful year to date. Contributions increased by 56 percent from $66 million in 2018, bringing the total to $268 million received since the inception of the Funding Windows in 2016. The bulk of contributions in 2019 was received at the end of the calendar year under the new Funding Windows structure, towards projects to be delivered over multiple years.

The level of project earmarking has increased by 20 percent since 2018. Of the amount received in 2019, $76 million (74 percent) was earmarked to specific projects by Germany, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Sweden and Switzerland; $14 million (14 percent) was earmarked to regions and countries by Denmark; and the remaining $14 million (13 percent) from Luxembourg, Norway, Repub-lic of Korea, Sweden and Switzerland was for flexible allocation. The Nature, Climate and Energy window received the largest contributions, all of which are earmarked to projects.

Expenditures totalled $48 million in 2019. This marked a 50 percent increase from 2018, demon-strat-ing a continued ability to deliver resources and impacts. Figure 2 presents expenditures by Funding Window.

Similar to 2018, 40 percent of all resources were disbursed to 31 least developed countries, for a total of $19 million. Table 1 provides detailed expenditures by Funding Window, sub-window and country. Figure 3 presents the 10 countries with the highest expenditures across all four Funding Windows. Figure 4 illustrates expenditures by region. Table 2 provides expenditures according to UNDP’s Stra-tegic Plan Outcomes and outputs.

FIGURE 2. 2019 EXPENDITURES BY FUNDING WINDOWS

TOTAL$48.5m

Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication (SDPE)

$6,401,257 (13%)

Governance for Inclusive and Peaceful Societies (GIPS)$20,272,198 (42%)

Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCDRR)

$9,785,348 (20%)

Emergency Development Response to Crisis and Recovery (EDRCR)

$12,029,149 (25%)

Germany $54.0m

Denmark $14.5m

Norway $3.8m

Netherlands $10.0m

Luxembourg $3.3m

Sweden $9.2m

Republic of Korea $3.1m

Switzerland $4.7m

Country/location Amount Environment and Natural Capital Sub-Window

Azerbaijan 156,208 -

Belize - 83,255

Benin 145,959 -

Bolivia 71,296 -

Botswana - 124,845

Brazil 211,539 42,331

Global Project: BIOFIN - 1,385,794

Colombia - 84,802

Costa Rica - 605,461

Cuba - 6,874

Ecuador - 146,468

Egypt 137,452 -

Guatemala - 50,958

India - 135,271

Indonesia 89,095 109,818

Kazakhstan 224,473 107,838

Kyrgyzstan - 22,841

Madagascar - 99,183

Mexico - 406,642

Mongolia - 7,686

Mozambique - 47,675

Nepal - 56,196

Peru - 79,727

Philippines - 485,308

Rwanda - 1,180

South Africa 147,530 22,705

Thailand - 364,643

Tunisia 290,748 -

United Republic of Tanzania - 3,958

Viet Nam 300,048 21,123

Zambia - 124,330

Total 6,401,257 1,774,345 4,626,912

Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication

TABLE 1. 2019 EXPENDITURES BY FUNDING WINDOW, SUB-WINDOW AND COUNTRY/ LOCATION

2019 CONTRIBUTORS

72 73

Country/location Main Window Democratic Governance for

Peace and Development

Conflict

Prevention

Albania - - 2,211

Algeria - - 43,855

Angola 12,616 - -

Armenia 178,735 - -

Bangladesh - - 282,172

Bosnia and Herzegovina - - 237,214

Burkina Faso - 757,921 -

Central African Republic 170,508 - -

Chad - 1,215,105 -

Colombia - - 110,690

Comoros - - 347,904

Costa Rica - 228,005 -

Ecuador - - 210,369

Ethiopia 43,959 - -

Fiji - 231,260 -

Georgia - 300,247 133,514

Global Project: Ending GBV & Achieving SDGs 1,103,701

Global project: SALW - - 6,021

Global project: UNDP-DPPA Joint Programme - - 3,677,540

Guatemala - 285,202 -

Guinea-Bissau - 101,159 -

Guyana 6,763 - -

Honduras - - 352,380

Jordan 273,919 - -

- - 172,644

Kyrgyzstan - 87,547 -

Lao People's Democratic Republ 299,970 - -

Lebanon 93,603 - 55,892

Liberia - - 206,367

Madagascar - 300,000 -

Malaysia 85,274 - -

Maldives - 332,138 -

Mali - 1,088,412 -

Mauritania - 2,049,533 -

Governance for Inclusive and Peaceful Societies

Country/location Main Window Democratic Governance for

Peace and Development

Conflict

Prevention

Moldova, Republic of - - 133,176

Montenegro 171,406 - 10,043

Myanmar - - 263,177

Nepal - 187,990 -

Niger - 1,452,529 -

Pakistan 299,685 - -

Panama - 226,041 -

Paraguay 96,226 - -

Peru 300,025 - -

Philippines 59,098 - 162,191

State of Palestine - - 336,011

Republic of North Macedonia - - 21,790

Rwanda - 169,532 -

Serbia - 41,232 40,423

Sierra Leone 116,523 - -

Sudan, Republic of the 120,400 - 83,397

Tajikistan 143,427 - -

Trinidad and Tobago - - 182,348

Tunisia - 57,204 -

Turkey - - 173,089

Uganda - 116,500 -

Uzbekistan - 202,556 -

Zimbabwe - 22,019 -

Adjustments 59 )218( )31(

Total 20,272,199 2,472,197 10,555,614 7,244,387

Governance for Inclusive and Peaceful Societies

Kosovo (As per UNSCR 1244)

74 75

Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction

Country/location Main Window Climate Change Sub-Window

Argentina - 9,411

Bhutan - 270,278

Global Project: NDC - 4,556,966

Chile - 226,606

Colombia - 380,063

Costa Rica - 109,975

Democratic Republic of Congo - 4,550

Ecuador - 472,859

Ghana - 233,929

Kenya - 386,659

Lao People's Democratic Republic - 45,454

Lebanon - 441,520

Mongolia - 10,661

Morocco - 1,251,529

Nepal 230,720 -

Panama Regional Center 2,590 -

Peru - 3,539

Philippines - 301,885

Thailand - 228,389

Trinidad and Tobago - 57,936

Uganda - 295,463

Vanuatu - 49,836

Zambia - 214,531

Total 9,785,348 233,310 9,552,038

Emergency Development Response to Crisis and Recovery

Country/location Amount

Antigua and Barbuda 103,671

Barbados 401,706

Brazil 182,506

Burkina Faso 792,803

Chad 211,976

Colombia 279,071

Global Project: Crisis Response 25,680

Cuba 11,025

Democratic Republic of Congo 3,271

Djibouti 1,131,774

Dominica 90,045

Ecuador 154,583

Ethiopia 1,786,223

Guatemala 128,639

India 407,562

Iran, Islamic Republic of 37,756

Malawi 465,514

Mali 1,168,999

Mauritania 664,292

Mozambique 499,462

Myanmar )150,083(

Niger 639,886

Peru 200,000

State of Palestine 53,917

Rwanda 12,835

Somalia 748,688

South Sudan, Republic of 426,661

Syria 969,935

Tonga 37,901

Venezuela 27,087

Virgin Islands (British) 31,096

Zimbabwe 484,111

Adjustments 559

Total 12,029,149

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FIGURE 3. THE 10 COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST EXPENDITURES ACROSS ALL FOUR FUNDING WINDOWS, 2019

FIGURE 4. EXPENDITURES BY REGION ACROSS ALL FUNDING WINDOWS, 2019

984,278ECUADOR

1,131,774DJIBOUTI

1,008,483PHILIPPINES

1,251,529MOROCCO

1,427,080CHAD

1,550,724BURKINA FASO

1,830,181ETHIOPIA

2,092,415NIGER

2,257,411MALI

2,713,825MAURITIANIA

Africa 45%

Arab States 16%

Asia and the Pacific 14%

Europe and the CIS 7%

Latin America and the Caribbean 18%

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TABLE 2. EXPENDITURE BY OUTCOMES AND OUTPUTS OF THE 2018-2021 STRATEGIC PLAN

Strategic Plan Outcomes Strategic Plan Outputs Expenditures

Outcome 1 Advance Poverty Eradication in all its Forms and

Dimensions

1.1.1 Capacities developed across the whole of government to integrate the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement and other international agreements in development plans and budgets, and to analyse progress towards the SDGs, using innovative and data-driven solutions. 1,450,165

1.1.2 Marginalised groups, particularly the poor, women, people with disabilities and displaced are empowered to gain universal access to basic ser-vices and financial and non-financial assets to build productive capacities and benefit from sustainable livelihoods and jobs 3,598,215

1.2.1 Capacities at national and sub-national levels strengthened to promote inclusive local economic development and deliver basic services includ-ing HIV and related services 989,844

1.2.2 Enabling environment strengthened to expand public and private financing for the achievement of the SDGs 494,7501.4.1 Solutions scaled up for sustainable management of natural resources, including sustainable commodities and green and inclusive value chains 4,937,2611.5.1 Solutions adopted to achieve universal access to clean, affordable and sustainable energy 401,3601.6.1 Country-led measures accelerated to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment 395,2871.6.2 Measures in place and implemented across sectors to prevent and respond to Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) 1,289,477

Outcome 2 Accelerated Structural

Transformations for Sustainable Development

2.1.1 Low emission and climate resilient objectives addressed in national, sub-national and sectoral development plans and policies to promote eco-nomic diversification and green growth 8,880,862

2.1.2 Capacities developed for progressive expansion of inclusive social protection systems 985,0922.2.2 Constitution-making, electoral and parliamentary processes and institutions strengthened to promote inclusion, transparency and accountability 3,307,8292.2.3 Capacities, functions and financing of rule of law and national human rights institutions and systems strengthened to expand access to justice and combat discrimination, with a focus on women and other marginalised groups 2,831,872

2.3.1 Data and risk-informed development policies, plans, systems and financing incorporate integrated and gender-responsive solutions to reduce disaster risks, enable climate change adaptation and mitigation, and prevent risk of conflict 3,125,535

2.4.1 Gender-responsive legal and regulatory frameworks, policies and institutions strengthened, and solutions adopted, to address conservation, sustainable use and equitable benefit sharing of natural resources, in line with international conventions and national legislation 519,382

2.5.1 Solutions developed, financed and applied at scale for energy efficiency and transformation to clean energy and zero-carbon development, for poverty eradication and structural transformation 732,123

2.6.1 Capacities strengthened to raise awareness on and undertake legal, policy and institutional reforms to fight structural barriers to women’s em-powerment 170,507

Outcome 3Strengthen Resilience to

Shocks and Crisis

3.1.1 Core government functions and inclusive basic services restored post-crisis for stabilisation, durable solutions to displacement and return to sus-tainable development pathways within the framework of national policies and priorities 2,866,990

3.2.1 National capacities strengthened for reintegration, reconciliation, peaceful management of conflict and prevention of violent extremism in re-sponse to national policies and priorities 8,126,471

3.2.2 National and local systems enabled and communities empowered to ensure the restoration of justice institutions, redress mechanisms and com-munity security 253,094

3.3.1 Evidence-based assessment and planning tools and mechanisms applied to enable implementation of gender-sensitive and risk-informed pre-vention and preparedness to limit the impact of natural hazards and pandemics and promote peaceful, just and inclusive societies 2,763,806

3.3.2 Gender-responsive and risk-informed mechanisms supported to build consensus, improve social dialogue and promote peaceful, just and inclu-sive societies 293,914

3.5.1 Energy access re-established for crisis-affected populations, with a focus on gender-sensitive, risk-informed and sustainable recovery 74,117

Grand Total $48,487,953